Eric Reed / For The BulletinBend Norths Hank Tobias pitches against Cody, Wyoming during the Little League Northwest Regional nament at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino, California on Saturday.

Bend North is right where it wants to be.

The Oregon 11- and 12-year-old Little League state champions roll into today’s Northwest Regional semifinal game in San Bernardino, California, against Alaska having won three straight games since falling to Washington 10-2 in the opening contest of the tournament.

“We’ve been playing better every single game,” said Bend North coach Dan Ruhl, whose club defeated Montana 5-0 on Tuesday to finish pool-play competition with a 3-1 record. “The kids are walking around with a lot of mojo.”

Bend, which is the No. 2 seed heading into the semifinals, has given up just two runs in its past three games. The all-star squad from Central Oregon defeated Wyoming 15-0 on Sunday before besting Alaska 10-2 on Monday and then shutting out Montana on Tuesday.

Ruhl’s squad spent Wednesday racing go-carts and enjoying a barbecue dinner put on by one of Little League’s local host parents.

“We didn’t think about baseball too much,” Ruhl said about his club’s most recent off day. “We (the coaches) are really toeing that line of being serious and having fun and letting the kids relax.”

Bend North enters the semifinals with a .348 team batting average, through Tuesday’s games the best mark in the tournament behind Washington, which is hitting .348. Center fielder Dylan Ruhl leads the way for Bend North with a scorching .583 average. Shortstop Evan Scalley is hitting .455, and outfielder Logan Wehrman is batting .429.

Ruhl also has been Bend’s most effective pitcher, allowing no runs over 4 2⁄3 innings in four appearances. Bend North’s 2.73 team earned-run average is the second-lowest mark in the Northwest regional. Washington, which finished 4-0 in pool play, has a 1.20 ERA. If both Bend North and Washington (Pacific Little League out of the north Seattle suburb of Lynnwood) win their semifinal contests today, they would meet in a rematch for the regional championship. The winner of the Northwest Regional earns a trip to the international Little League World Series, Aug. 14-24 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

“It’s not a dream anymore,” Dan Ruhl said about qualifying for the Little League World Series. “It’s a reality. We know we can win two games.

“We’ll have a dogfight in both contests,” he added. “But we’re confident we can get there. Our kids really want another shot at Washington. I love it. They have some hunger.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0305; beastes@bendbulletin.com.