Bend Elks
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| Bend Elks | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| League | West Coast League (South) |
| Location |  Bend, Oregon |
| Ballpark | Vince Genna Stadium |
| Founded | 1999 |
| League championships | 2 (2004, 2015) |
| Division championships | 2 (2010, 2015) |
| Colors | Black, gold |
| Mascot | Vinnie the Elk |
| Ownership | John and Tami Marick |
| Manager | Allen Cox |
The Bend Elks are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Bend, Oregon. The Elks are founding members of the West Coast League and play their home games at Vince Genna Stadium.
History
[edit]Jim and Mary Ann Richards founded the Bend Elks Baseball Club in 1999 with the hope of saving Vince Genna Stadium from demolition. The Elks joined the Pacific International League. Bend continued their affiliation with the league through 2004. In 2005 the Elks along with Bellingham, Kelowna, Spokane, and Wenatchee left the league to form the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCBL).[1]
The Bend Elks went 31-23 in the 2014 WCL season finishing 4 games behind the leading Corvallis Knights and were awarded the first ever WCL wild card spot. Bend was eliminated after the WCL Divisional Series to the rival Corvallis Knights in 2 games. The Elks were Hit by the pitch 72 times and set a WCL record for the most times hit at the plate in one season. The front office of the Bend Elks put 42,030 people through the turnstiles in 31 games at home with 1,356 per game.
In October 2014, John and Tami Marick purchased the Bend Elks Baseball Club from Jim and Mary Ann Richards. The Maricks are founders of Consumer Cellular, a nationwide wireless MVNO based in Tigard, Oregon, with one of its three corporate locations in Central Oregon.[2]
In 2015 the Bend Elks won the WCL championship series.
The Elks are the latest in a long history of semi-pro and minor-league teams to call Central Oregon home.
2022
[edit]The Elks are currently tied for second in the south division with the Corvallis Knights with a 22-12 record and .5 games behind the division leading Portland Pickles.[3] Beau Sylvester (UW) leads the league with 33 runs batted in.[4] The Elks have seen 24,957 total fans for an average of 1,387 per game.[5]
2024
[edit]Jackson Elder (Utah) was named pitcher of the week on July 9th. Elder threw for seven innings in the Elks' game against the Pippins allowing zero runs and only three hits while also throwing eight strikeouts.[6]
Also on July 9th, Easton Amundson, Mason Edwards, Jackson Elder, and Tyler Wood were selected to represent the Elks in the 2024 all star game in Bellingham.[7]
The Elks made the postseason as a wildcard. This was the Elks' first playoff berth since 2015. The Elks were swept by the Pickles in the Divisional Series 0-2.[8]
Notable alumni
[edit]Elks alumni who went on to play in Major League Baseball include Brian Barden, Jacoby Ellsbury, Blaine Hardy, Trevor Hildenberger, and Eric Sogard.[9]
Results by Season
[edit]| Year | League | Division | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | GB | Postseason | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | PIL | 17 | 13 | Did Not Qualify | Donny Harrel | ||||
| 2001 | PIL | 21 | 9 | Did Not Qualify | Donny Harrel | ||||
| 2002 | PIL | 17 | 13 | Did Not Qualify | Donny Harrel | ||||
| 2003 | PIL | 15 | 15 | Did Not Qualify | Casey Powell | ||||
| 2004 | PIL | 24 | 12 | PIL Champions | Zeke Mitchem | ||||
| 2005 | WCL | 13 | 23 | Did Not Qualify | Rob Strickland | ||||
| 2006 | WCL | 24 | 18 | Did Not Qualify | Nathan Pratt | ||||
| 2007 | WCL | 23 | 19 | Did Not Qualify | Casey Powell | ||||
| 2008 | WCL | 23 | 19 | Lost Division Series | Ryan Thompson | ||||
| 2009 | WCL | 25 | 23 | Lost Division Series (Knights) | Scott Anderson | ||||
| 2010 | WCL | South | 2nd | 27 | 21 | .563 | 4 | Won Division Series 2-0 (Knights) Lost Championship Series 1-2 (AppleSox) |
Sean Kinney |
| 2011 | WCL | West | 2nd | 29 | 25 | .537 | 8 | Lost Division Series 1-2 (Knights) | Sean Kinney |
| 2012 | WCL | South | 4th | 24 | 30 | .444 | 8 | Did Not Qualify | Sean Kinney |
| 2013 | WCL | South | 3rd | 30 | 24 | .556 | 7 | Did Not Qualify | Joe Dominiak |
| 2014 | WCL | South | 2nd | 31 | 23 | .574 | 4 | Lost Division Series 0-2 (Knights) | Marty Hunter |
| 2015 | WCL | South | 1st | 35 | 16 | .686 | - | Won Division Series 2-0 (Knights) Won Championship Series 2-0 (Falcons) |
Trey Watt |
| 2016 | WCL | South | 5th | 21 | 33 | .389 | 13 | Did Not Qualify | Casey Powell |
| 2017 | WCL | South | 4th | 26 | 28 | .481 | 8 | Did Not Qualify | Alan Embree |
| 2018 | WCL | South | 5th | 12 | 42 | .222 | 25 | Did Not Qualify | Alan Embree |
| 2019 | WCL | South | 6th | 21 | 33 | .389 | 21 | Did Not Qualify | Joe Dominiak |
| 2020 | Season cancelled (COVID-19) | ||||||||
| 2021 | WCL | South | 4th | 26 | 22 | .542 | 11 | Did Not Qualify | Kyle Nobach |
| 2022 | WCL | South | 5th | 28 | 26 | .519 | 11 | Did Not Qualify | Joey Wong |
| 2023 | WCL | South | 5th | 25 | 29 | .463 | 14 | Did Not Qualify | Joey Wong |
| 2024 | WCL | South | 3rd | 32 | 21 | .604 | 8.5 | Lost South Divisional Series 0-2 (Pickles) | Allen Cox |
| League Champions | Division Champions | Playoff Team |
References
[edit]- ^ "New Summer College League launches in Pacific Northwest". West Coast League. 2005-03-01. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
- ^ "Front Office". www.bendelks.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-06.
- ^ "West Coast League - standings".
- ^ "West Coast League - leaders".
- ^ "West Coast League - attendance".
- ^ https://westcoastleague.com/grady-and-elder-earn-wcls-moss-adams-weekly-honors/
- ^ https://westcoastleague.com/wcl-all-star-game-rosters-announced/
- ^ https://baseball.pointstreak.com/schedule.html?leagueid=145&seasonid=33877
- ^ "Stadium History". www.bendelks.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15.