Elks Rally Together to Take Season Series Over Portland

The Elks offensive chemistry was put on full display in a 10-run reckoning on the Portland Pickles. (Andrew Green)

Bend, OR. - After nearly blowing a seven-run lead the night before, the Bend Elks made sure not to let history repeat itself Saturday, sustaining its large lead in game two to earn the 10-4 win and take the season series over the Portland Pickles.

Unlike the night before, Bend (23-22, 20-21) didn’t post a crooked number in the first and instead played neck and neck with Portland (27-20, 22-16) through the first four innings, being notched at a pair a piece going into the fifth. That fifth inning marked the turning point for the Elks, who rallied for five runs during a string of six straight hits, giving Bend a 7-2 lead.

The Pickles shaved a couple of runs off Bend’s lead in the top of the seventh on a two-RBI single by Evan Cloyd. The Pickles body shot was no match for the Elks counterpunch of three runs in the bottom half of the frame. Maddox Molony roped a two-run double down the left field line while Jake Hoskins earned his second RBI of the evening by drawing a bases-loaded walk to give Bend double-digit runs for the second straight game and the eighth time this season.

While Bend’s pitching staff still struggled to fill up the zone consistently, the staff did a much better job of closing out innings and escaping jams. Bend left 13 pickles stranded and had three inning-ending strikeouts, helping the Elks keep Portland quiet through the late game and not let their free passes deal away the game. Eric Valdez earned his first win of the summer, providing some big-time middle-inning relief, going 2.2 IP, giving up one hit, two walks, and no earned runs.

A quad of Elks finished with multiple hits, including Braeden Terry, Wilson Weber, Avery Ortiz, and Justin Tsukada. Weber had two hits and two RBI in his Bend debut. Ortiz has had an extra-base hit in three of his last four starts. Tsukada reached in all four at-bats while Terry extended his three-game hit streak, including back-to-back multi-hit efforts. Terry brought in seven runs over the first two games of the series.

Bend will look to claim its second sweep of the season and first against the Pickles since 2021 Sunday at 5:05 p.m. at Vince Genna Stadium.