The Bend Elks are a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team located in Bend,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. The Elks compete in the

West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...

and play their home games at Vince Genna Stadium. Founded as an expansion team in the Pacific International League, the Elks won the PIL Championship in 2004. Following their championship season, the Elks left the PIL to become a founding member of the West Coast League. After some early struggles, the Elks have won two division titles and a league championship in 2015. Following their lone WCL Championship win, the Elks would not make the playoffs until 2024.

History

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 Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

, Spokane, and

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. Located in the north-central part of the stat ...

left the league to form the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCBL). The Bend Elks went 31-23 in the 2014 WCL season finishing 4 games behind the leading

Corvallis Knights The Corvallis Knights, founded as the Aloha Knights, are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Corvallis, Oregon. Founded in 1990 in Beaverton by Dan and his brother Joe Segel, the Knights moved to Corvallis from Gresham in 2007. They ...

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 Consumer Cellular, Inc. is an American postpaid mobile virtual network operator founded by John Marick and Greg Pryor in Portland, Oregon in October 1995. The company offers cellphones, no-contract cellphone plans, and accessories with a focus ...

, a nationwide wireless

MVNO A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobil ...

based in Tigard, Oregon, with one of its three corporate locations in Central Oregon. 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 Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards t ...

home.

2024

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. 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. 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.

2025

The Elks are currently fourth in the South Division with a 7-8 record and are seven games behind the division leading Pickles. Pitchers John-Paul Sauer (Uncommitted) and Erik Puodziunas (Michigan) have won two games each. 6,586 fans have attended Bend's six home games for an average of 1,098.

Notable alumni

Elks alumni who went on to play in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

include

Brian Barden Brian David Barden (born April 2, 1981) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, and Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB), and for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Ni ...

Jacoby Ellsbury Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( ; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2 ...

Blaine Hardy Blaine Patrick Hardy (born March 14, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers. College career Hardy attended Edmonds-Woodway High School in ...

Trevor Hildenberger Trevor Hildenberger, nicknamed Hildy (born December 15, 1990), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft and made his Major League Baseball debut in 2017 for the ...

, and

Eric Sogard Eric Sidney Sogard (born May 22, 1986) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago Cubs. Sogard atte ...

Results by Season

References

External links

Official Website
{{College Summer Baseball Amateur baseball teams in Oregon Sports in Bend, Oregon 2000 establishments in Oregon Baseball teams established in 2000