Ryan Brennecke / The BulletinElks' catcher Cooper Hummel (2) celebrates with pitcher Daniel Bies (21) after defeating Corvallis 5-2 in Game 2 of a West Coast League playoffs first-round series in Bend on Wednesday.

Jordan Wilcox probably would have demanded the ball for Game 2 if it were not already his turn in the rotation.

The Bend Elks pitcher was in the bullpen at Corvallis’ Goss Stadium a year ago. He can still hear the crack of the bat. He can still see the Corvallis Knights celebrating a walk-off win at home plate. He can recall the shocked faces of his teammates. The Knights had earned a spot in the West Coast League championship series with a two-run homer, while the Elks were eliminated from the playoffs.

As Wilcox geared up for his start at Bend’s Vince Genna Stadium this past Wednesday night, those haunting memories returned. He was looking to erase — or subdue, at least — that heartbreak.

Wilcox was all business from the moment he arrived at Genna. Billy King, who had played first base that fateful 2014 evening, recalls that teammates attempted to keep the starter loose, but Wilcox would not crack. Wilcox arrived determined, and King could see it in the pitcher’s eyes.

Later that night, after closer Daniel Bies pumped in a fastball for strike three to seal the Elks’ 5-2 victory, King observed something else about Wilcox. King sensed a feeling of payback within Wilcox — because a year after an agonizing, season-ending defeat, Wilcox earned the Game 2 win to help the Elks complete a two-game first-round sweep of Corvallis and advance to the WCL championship series.

“It still feels incredible, to come this far and to beat (the Knights) 10 of 11 times this season,” says Wilcox. “To do it to such a great team and in such a rivalry, to beat them so many times and overcome this first playoff series, it’s such a great feeling.”

“Coming back this year and beating Corvallis 10 out of 11 times,” King adds, “and beating them two-and-out in the playoffs is huge not only for this year’s team but definitely for the guys from last year’s team.”

Wilcox and King are among a small handful of current Elks players who endured that sudden and disappointing loss last year. Now, they have redeemed themselves and earned a league-title matchup with the Kelowna Falcons, whom the Elks beat in 2004 for the Pacific International League championship — Bend’s last league crown and the only league title in the franchise’s 16-year history.

The best-of-three championship series gets underway tonight in Kelowna with Nate Hunter starting on the mound for the Elks. Game 2 and a Game 3, if necessary, are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Bend.

“They still had that bad taste in their mouth from last year, and we did reiterate that point of, ‘We’re not going to let that happen again,’” says Elks coach Trey Watt, who was also in the bullpen as a Bend assistant coach during last season’s playoff defeat. “That was huge to have those guys (back) who were on the field and in the dugout.”

As much as Watt and those 2014 Elks would want to erase that memory, there was no forgetting the anguish. Rather than wallow, however, the returning Bend players and coaches used the setback as motivation. At the beginning of the season, the team discussed that loss, how the Knights had won eight straight division titles and advanced to seven of the past eight WCL championship series. The Elks were determined to snap Corvallis’ run of success. As Bend infielder Dalton Hurd said with a laugh after Wednesday’s series-clinching victory: “I’m kind of sick of them winning. It’s our turn.”

“We talked about how many years in a row they had won the division and we talked about what type of measuring stick Corvallis could be, by winning a series against them and using that to show where we are and where we’re going,” Watt says. “We talked about their success and how we wanted to be in that position.”

Now the Elks are in that position. Division champs. Owners of the best regular-season record in the WCL. Following his team’s first-round sweep of the Knights, Watt mentioned how “unreal” it was to see the transformation the Elks had made between 2014 and this summer. Surely, Wilcox says, team chemistry played a significant role.

“Since day one, we’ve been having fun in the dugout, on the road trips, getting along really well,” Wilcox says. “I feel like we just have a special bond, ever since day one. We set our goals high, and that’s what we’re looking forward to — taking it all the way.”

“It’s definitely a group that loves playing with each other,” Watt adds. “It’s a group that loves to play baseball, period. It’s a group that competes at all aspects. It’s just going to be a matter of them playing loose and trusting their abilities. If they execute our game plan and what they want to do, I think we should be fine.”

Getting past the first round, past the Knights, winners in eight of their last 10 regular-season games, was the most difficult challenge the Elks had faced so far this season, King says. Reaching this point — the WCL championship series — is an accomplishment in itself, he continues, but there is no satisfaction for the Elks. Yet.

“I think this team kind of feels like it’s championship or bust,” King says. “We’ve had those expectations since the beginning of the season. Whatever happens, happens. It’s baseball. The ball might not roll your way. … We know what we’ve got to do, and we’re going to do our best to win it.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0307, glucas@bendbulletin.com