EVERETT, Wash. – After doing their part on the field Saturday afternoon to stay in contention for national play, the Bend Elks will spend today at home, watching the Pacific International League scoreboard.

Bend won both ends of its collegiate baseball doubleheader Saturday against the Everett Merchants, by scores of 5-0 and 8-6. The Elks, who have completed their PIL season, now must hope that the Seattle Studs lose at least once today in their league-finale home doubleheader against the Portland Kings.

If the Studs, who swept the Kings in a twin bill on Saturday to improve to 22-12 in PIL play, take two again today from Portland, they – and not the Elks – will be National Division champions and will represent the league at next week’s National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan.

The Elks currently lead the National Division at 24-12, but Seattle can match that record with a sweep today and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over Bend for the right to advance to the World Series.

Bend, 36-20 overall, can finish no worse than No. 2 in the division, in which case the Elks would be on the road against either Portland or Kirkland (Wash.) when the PIL Divisional Playoffs open on Friday. Bend would be at home next Saturday for Game 2 and Sunday for Game 3, if necessary, in the best-of-three playoff series.

Whether or not the Elks qualify for the World Series, they will field a team for non-league home games against the Mount Hood Cardinals on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Game time both nights at Genna Stadium is set for 7 o’clock.

In Saturday’s opener, Scott Braun tossed a one-hitter in the Elks’ seven-inning, 5-0 victory.

Braun, a 6-foot-8-inch left-hander from Pacific University, pitched a perfect game through four innings. Ryan Amos hit a single up the middle to lead off the fifth inning, the only hit of the game for the Merchants again Braun, who finished with five strikeouts and no walks.

Bend took the lead with a three-run second inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Colin Griffin. Chris O’Brien doubled and scored on Tyler Graham’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and Chris Kunda drove in another run for the Elks with a double in the seventh.

Scott Skeen was three for four with two doubles for Bend, and Griffin was two for three.

In the second game, the Elks led from wire to wire en route to the 8-6 win.

Geoff Wagner crushed a two-run homer in the first inning for Bend, then drove in two more runs in the second inning with a single that put the Elks on top 4-0.

Mike Rundle, who was four for six in the game, delivered RBI singles in the sixth and seventh innings, and Bend held off a late charge by the Merchants.