Elks Offense Resurges From the Dead to Claim Finale over Walla Walla
Luca Dipaolo's three hits and three RBI played a large contribution in the Elks powerful production at the plate. (Andrew Green)
Walla Walla, WA. - After only scoring six runs over its previous three games, the Bend Elks doubled that total plus one Thursday against the Walla Walla Sweets with an offensive resurgence that led the Elks to a 13-6 victory over the Sweets to snap its three-game losing streak.
Bend went scoreless through the final eight innings in game two and the first four in game three for a combined span of 12 consecutive innings without a run. That streak would come to a screeching halt as from the fifth inning on, Bend would outscore Walla 13-4, including eight unanswered over the final three frames. Bend improves its record to a perfect 9-0 when scoring double-digit runs. It marked the fifth double-digit showing from the Elks offense over its last 12 games.
Not only did the Elks bear greater fruit in the run category but also in the hit column producing more than half as many knocks from its six the night before with 13 hits in the finale. A whopping five players had multiple hits in the finale, with no performance at the plate being greater than Luca Dipaolo, who was a home run shy of the cycle, going 3-6 with a triple, double, and three RBI. Ever since Dipaolo joined the Elks, he has been sensational, posting Bend's top batting average at .352 with 17 extra-base hits that include a West Coast League-leading 13 doubles.
Walla Walla took the initial lead for the first time in the three-game set, scoring two runs in the second inning on an RBI double by Logan Meyer and a Vicente Filiceanoss RBI groundout. In the fifth, the Elks turned the lead back in their favor upon a two-run double from Tyler Peterson and a Derek Gellos sacrifice fly. Bend built on to the lead in the sixth with a couple more runs driven in on Braeden Terry's first double of the season.
Despite the Elks not backing down to the Sweets, Walla Walla remained a persistent pain for Bend by putting up a four-spot to regain the rights to the lead in the home half of the sixth thanks to a wild pitch by Jackson Peters and a two-out two-RBI single by UCLA Bruin Aiden Espinoza. Yet that would be all the offense the Sweets could muster Thursday, going scoreless over the next three frames. Meanwhile, the Elks kept digging a larger and larger hole for Walla Walla, scoring eight unanswered runs, including a two-run triple by Dipaolo in the seventh, four runs in the eighth helped by three errors on the Sweet's behalf, plus an additional pair in the ninth on an RBI knock from Gellos and a Wilson Weber RBI groundout.
Outside of the crooked sixth for the Sweets, the Elks' pitchers proved primarily effective, with Zach Romero providing a great start going four innings giving up two runs on three hits with two walks countered by a season-high five strikeouts. For reference, Romero had only struck out three batters over his previous seven appearances for the summer. The Elks went one by one out of the bullpen, not releasing any of its six bullpen arms longer than an inning. Shane Buchanan (1-1) picked up his first win going ⅔ of an inning to get the Elks out of that damaging sixth inning.
Bend will use this win as fuel for the fire ahead of a crucial series and test against the six-time defending West Coast League Champions Corvallis Knights, who have won 17 of their last 18 games. The Knights took two of three against the Elks at Goss Stadium in mid-June. The rivalry series kicks off Friday at 6:35 p.m. at Vince Genna Stadium.
