Bend Elks infielder Michael Ball (14) dives in an attempt to make the tag as Ridgefield's Jacob Sharp (3) steals second base during a game last season at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend. Ball is returning to the Elks this season.

Bend Elks baseball is back starting Friday night, and the team returns several key players from last year’s 28-26 squad that just missed the playoffs.

The Elks, of the summer college wood-bat West Coast League, will open with a six-game homestand at Vince Genna Stadium, beginning with the Wenatchee AppleSox at 6:35 p.m. Friday.

For second-year Elks head coach Joey Wong, there is excitement to build upon last year’s team.

“I’m really excited to be back,” Wong said. “I felt like I learned a lot last summer, first time being a head coach, definitely a lot of lessons learned.”

The past two seasons the Elks entered the final game of the regular season with a chance at reaching the postseason, but came up short of making their first playoff berth since their WCL title in 2015.

Wong is hoping that the continuity of bringing back pitching coach Danny Sales and several standout players — and just a better understanding of the ever-changing summer baseball landscape — will help to end the playoff drought.

“We are feeling really good,” Wong said. “We have a great group of 10-day players and we will keep some for the whole summer. We have more pitchers in town to start the year than we have had in the past. I think we have a really solid group of players.”

One of the key returners is all-league shortstop Elijah Jackson, of Chico State, who batted .325 last summer for the Elks. Also returning is right-handed pitcher Jake Green, of Lewis-Clark State College, who struck out 47 batters out of the bullpen last summer.

Of course, the early season roster will look slightly different in a couple of weeks when players who are currently still playing in the college baseball postseason arrive in Bend once their teams have been eliminated.

Managing a fluid roster is perhaps the biggest thing that Wong learned last year. The landscape of summer baseball is quite different than when he suited up for the Elks in 2006, when the roster stayed mostly the same for the duration of the summer. That isn’t the case in 2023.

“At times it looks like we have too many guys, then we start getting thin,” Wong said. “The way it is trending now with coaches sending out players at different times during the season, and players going home at different times … we have a better feel on how to navigate that.”

Major League Baseball implemented a 15-second pitch clock this season and the WCL will have its own variation to speed up the pace of the game, based on the current college rules.

“As we embrace the baseball-wide movement to create a faster-paced, more entertaining game for our fans, we’re blessed with a highly trained group of umpires to ensure our efforts are both thoughtful and effective,” said WCL commissioner Rob Neyer in a press release.

Rather than a pitch clock, there will be a 20-second action clock when runners are on base. The pitcher will have to start the motion of throwing a pitch or make a pickoff attempt within those 20 seconds to avoid a clock violation. Pitchers will be allowed one step-off or fake throw to a base per batter to reset the clock.

There will be no physical play clock, but time will be kept by the umpires. There will also be a two-minute time limit between innings.

“It is going to be tough,” Wong said.

“There is no actual clock they can see tick down. We are going to have to be quick with the signs. Catchers are going to have to have a good feel for the clock and be quick with their signs.”

Friday: Wenatchee AppleSox at Bend Elks, 6:35 p.m.

Saturday: Wenatchee AppleSox at Bend Elks, 6:35 p.m.

Sunday: Wenatchee AppleSox at Bend Elks, 5:05 p.m.

Monday: Port Angeles Lefties at Bend Elks, 6:35 p.m.

Tuesday: Port Angeles Lefties at Bend Elks, 6:35 p.m.

Wednesday: Port Angeles Lefties at Bend Elks, 6:35 p.m.

(All games at Vince Genna Stadium)