Elks beat by Klamath Falls 14-6; Split Squad wins
August 6, 2011 - West Coast League (WCL)
Bend Elks News Release
The Bend Elks trend of playing inconsistent baseball continued into game 1 Friday against the Klamath Falls Gems, where the Elks committed four errors leading to 5 unearned runs and Klamath Falls managed a whopping 20 hits on the night, handing the Elks a defeat by a score of 9-6. To make matters worse, with Cowlitz defeating Walla Walla 1-0, the Elks are now ½ game out of second place after losing Friday night.
The Elks got one in the top of the first as Justin Maffei led off the game with a double, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a wild pitch from Klamath starter Hunter Greenwood, giving the Elks a vote of confidence early on. That didn't last long however as the Gems came back and scored three in the bottom of the first inning as Graham Saiko led off the bottom of the inning with a double and would later steal home, Nate Goodwin singled and would come around to score on a sac fly from Ryan Doeppel, and Turner Gill reached on a single. After getting on and advancing to second, a double steal had catcher Kyle Buchanan attempt to throw out the runner at second, but a wild throw would allow Gill to come around and score, giving the Gems the 3-1 lead after 1 against Elks starter Jason Wilson.
The Elks got one back in the top of the second as Ryan Dunn would score on an RBI single from Buchanan to make the score 3-2. Klamath wouldn't score again until the fourth with two outs when Nick Miller singled, Bo Cornish hit an RBI double, and Graham Saiko hit an RBI single to score Cornish, making the score 5-2. In the top of the 6th, the Elks would chase Gems starter Greenwood as Ryan Dunn hit a two run home run to bring the Elks close again, this time 5-4. That would again be short lived.
The Gems scored in bunches again in the sixth as Nate Goodwin hit an RBI single into right field to bring home the first run of the inning Saiko, and an error by the rightfielder on the play also allowed Nick Miller to score, ending the night early of reliever Daniel Grazzini. That was followed by an RBI single from Turner Gill and Doeppel provided his second Sac Fly on the night, giving the Gems four in the inning and a 9-4 lead.
The Elks would respond right back with runs In the top of the seventh as Stetson Olson and Michael Benjamin led off the inning with singles, then Tyler Christian hit a ball that was misplayed by the shortstop, allowing Olson to score and got Benjamin to third. After a popout from Jordan Brower, Ryan Dunn hit an RBI single to plate Benjamin, cutting the lead to three at 9-6.
The Gems would get them back in the bottom of the eighth as they scored five runs to put the game out of reach. They had 5 hits in the inning and an early error by Tyler Christian that would have likely prevented any damage in the inning as it should have been a double play ball followed by a groundout. Instead, there were runners on first and second with nobody out and the game would be all but over.
The Elks and Gems play Game 2 of the series Saturday, 7:05 first pitch.
West Coast League Stories from August 6, 2011
- Gems Beat Bend 14-6 - Klamath Falls Gems
- Late run enough for Cowlitz - Walla Walla Sweets
- Black Bears Win 1-0 - Cowlitz Black Bears
- Kelowna Falcons Shutout Bluejackets - Kelowna Falcons
- Elks beat by Klamath Falls 14-6; Split Squad wins - Bend Elks
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