Tucker Grote of the Bend Elks delivers a pitch during the game against Ridgefield on Friday at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend.

The West Coast League games are starting to go by fast, said Bend Elks coach Joey Wong, as the Elks are nearing the midway point of the season.

Through 18 WCL games, the Elks are still trying to find their footing and string together some series wins to get back above .500 and make a playoff push in the second half of the season.

“We need to come out more aggressive,” Wong said. “We are a little too timid at times, especially in the batter’s box. We have to get rid of that fear of making a mistake and let it all hang out.”

The Elks (7-11) entered this past weekend’s series against the Ridgefield Raptors coming off a series win over the then-first place Springfield Drifters. Elks’ left-handed pitcher Ryan Rembisz, of the University of Portland, won WCL pitcher of the week honors after throwing a two-hitter in six innings of work to secure the series win with a 4-3 victory on Wednesday.

Even though the Elks lost a close one, 4-3, in the series finale Thursday in Springfield, the team felt confident when it returned to Bend to play the hottest team in the WCL — the Ridgefield (Wash.) Raptors.

But the Raptors (14-6) came into Vince Genna Stadium and swept the Elks in three games (3-1, 15-6, 8-3) Friday through Sunday to extend their winning streak to 10 games.

“We were feeling really good after the Springfield series,” Wong said. “But Ridgefield is a really good club. They are clearly the class of the league right now, and it is going to be someone else’s job to run them down. It is going to be tough to do in the first half.”

Even though the Elks were swept for the first time this season, there is not much worry among the players after dropping the three games to Ridgefield.

“This was the first time we got away from playing our brand of baseball,” said catcher Beau Sylvester, of Oklahoma State, who was named the WCL’s top prospect a year ago. “We got a lot of good hitters, a lot of good pitchers. Once everything starts to click on all cylinders, I think we will be alright.”

The upcoming series against the Raptors (Tuesday through Thursday in Ridgefield) will be the third consecutive series in which the Elks play the top team in the WCL’s South Division.

“It is important after a tough series like this to get back into the win column and get that momentum going,” said Elks centerfielder Braeden Terry, of Everett (Wash.) Community College.

Following the second series against the Raptors, the Elks have a schedule in which they could string together some series wins. Three of their next four series are against teams that, as of Monday afternoon, are within a game of each other in the win column.

The Elks host the Walla Walla Sweets (Friday through Sunday) and the Yakima Valley Pippins (July 4-6), who each have the same number of WCL wins (seven) as the Elks. Then they play at the Portland Pickles and then host the Cowlitz (Wash.) Black Bears, who are currently one game ahead of the Elks.

The upcoming series at Ridgefield, against Walla Walla and at Yakima Valley could go a long way in getting the Elks back into the hunt for one of the four South Division playoff spots.

“I’d say that everyone in this league is capable of beating any other team at this point,” Wong said. “Ridgefield is a step above, and chasing them, those series are going to be competitive. If we don’t make an adjustment, we are going to be a ways back, and we don’t want that.”