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.

Bend Elks
Information
LeagueWest Coast League (South)
LocationOregon Bend, Oregon
BallparkVince Genna Stadium
Founded1999
League championships2 (2004, 2015)
Division championships2 (2010, 2015)
ColorsBlack, gold
   
MascotVinnie the Elk
OwnershipJohn and Tami Marick
ManagerAllen Cox

History

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ "New Summer College League launches in Pacific Northwest". West Coast League. 2005-03-01. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  2. ^ "Front Office". www.bendelks.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-06.
  3. ^ "West Coast League - standings".
  4. ^ "West Coast League - leaders".
  5. ^ "West Coast League - attendance".
  6. ^ https://westcoastleague.com/grady-and-elder-earn-wcls-moss-adams-weekly-honors/
  7. ^ https://westcoastleague.com/wcl-all-star-game-rosters-announced/
  8. ^ https://baseball.pointstreak.com/schedule.html?leagueid=145&seasonid=33877
  9. ^ "Stadium History". www.bendelks.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15.
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