One day before the Bend Elks begin their 2025 season, players were still making their way from their college teams and new staff members were still being trained on the fly to prepare for Friday’s opening night.

The Bend Elks of the West Coast League — a wood-bat college summer league — start their season in Bend with a three-game series against the Ridgefield (Wash.) Raptors. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Friday at Vince Genna Stadium.

“This year we are feeling really good,” said Elks operating owner Kelsie Hirko. “But I always say that the day before the first game is a ‘ready or not, here we come’ situation. It is fun to be at this point and know that we have hot dogs, we have french fries and we have beer. And no matter what goes on we have fans here and we will have a baseball game.”

“We’ve had a couple of practices already, everyone is feeling each other out and seeing what we got,” said Elks second-year coach Allen Cox. “It is always exciting for opening day.”

The Elks’ 58-game regular-season schedule includes eight home WCL series and two nonconference series this season in Bend.

And the Elks are ready to build off of last season’s success. Last summer, the Elks reached the postseason for the first time since 2015 — the year they won the West Coast League title — breaking a nine-year drought.

Whether it is an uptick in season ticket sales or just general excitement from the local community, Hirko can feel the impact of last year’s run to the postseason.

“There is definitely some positive momentum,” Hirko said. “Our season ticket holders have jumped, which is exciting, and general excitement with sponsors has been higher than we typically see. It was exciting to see that and feel that momentum building beyond that one season.”

“Even in the city, every time we are going somewhere, I’m getting asked, ‘When does the season start?’” Cox said.

There are currently three Bend ballplayers on the current roster. Former Mountain View pitcher Simon Lemke (now pitching for Southern Nevada) is in his third year on the pitching staff. Former Bend High infielder Kaden Isola (now with Sacramento City College) is in his first year on the team. And current Summit pitcher Alex Via, headed to University of Portland this fall, will pitch once the high school season wraps up.

“It is nice when you can get those local kids,” Cox said. “The best is when your lineup is filled with home-town guys. Because it brings the crowd in and the community backs it more. We would like to one day say that half our roster is from Bend and the surrounding areas.”

Tickets range from $12 to $25. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit bendelks.com. For more information on the West Coast League, visit westcoastleague.com.