Bangor baseball overpowers Hermon in home finale

Bangor varsity baseball’s senior night went swimmingly on Monday as the Rams built a 5-0 lead over Hermon and held on for the 7-2 victory at Mansfield Stadium.

It was a much-needed bounceback win for the Rams (8-5-1), who previously were no-hit by Messalonskee (10-3) last Wednesday, and lost in extras to No. 1 Hampden Academy (11-1) on Friday. Hermon moved to 5-7.

Showcasing their patience at the plate, the Rams drew nine walks and collected seven hits, loading the bases in the third, fourth and sixth innings. They forced Hermon sophomore Edgar LeClerc to throw 88 pitches through three innings, and junior Maddox Kinney to throw 50 more through six.

“Any good pitching we see, we just try to grind them. Eventually we get to them, that’s our mentality,” Bangor senior shortstop Yates Emerson (two walks, run) said. “We’re working some kinks out, but we’re Bangor, we get better as the year goes on. It’s super fun to have [Mansfield] as our home field, it’s a blessing.”

Bangor sophomore DH Scott Sockabasin drew three walks and added an RBI single in the sixth, and sophomore center fielder Gavin Glanville-True earned two RBIs via a hit by pitch (third inning) and then a base on balls (sixth inning).

Bangor senior catcher Jack Schuck (2-for-4, two runs) and sophomore second baseman Ethan Sproul (2-for-4, RBI) recorded two singles apiece for the Rams.

The Rams have four seniors and five sophomores in their starting lineup, and believe that they have gradually bridged this age gap playing alongside one another this spring.

“I think we’re meshing. We’re all learning and going through this together,” sophomore Kyle Johnson (5.2 innings, 11 strikeouts) said. “What a sophomore might be going through, a senior might be going through too. We all have experience. You can put anyone out there and we can go win.”

The Rams are currently hovering around fourth place in Class A North, and have two road games before the playoffs start in June — Brunswick at 4 p.m. Thursday, and Brewer at 7 p.m. next Tuesday. Veteran head coach Dave Morris wants Bangor to be more disciplined on the mound, and get more contact with runners in scoring position.

“We’ve got a young pitching staff, and we’ve got to minimize those walks. We’re getting better, but we’ve got to continue to grow and get [opponents] swinging the bat. Playoff baseball’s gonna be tighter,” Morris said. “We’re playing good defense, and our hitting is there. Those walks are great, but other times you’ve got to hit some of those pitches.”

Hermon, meanwhile, is hovering around eighth in Class B North, but has four more games to solidify a playoff spot for itself.

The Hawks are allowing just 3.6 runs per game, and head coach Matt Kinney has confidence that his squad will be able to manufacture some key wins down the stretch.

“We’re actually starting to play some really decent baseball. The big thing is to just keep competing. We win a couple games, and we’re all set,” Kinney said. “We’ve lost a lot of close games. We threw OK [today], and made some great defensive plays, but we gave them too many free baserunners.”

On Monday, the Hawks seamlessly turned two on a ground ball to short in the fourth inning, and stranded 12 total runners. Senior catcher Danny Fowler also made a nice play on a popup to foul territory in the second inning, flashing leather as he fell to the ground.

On offense, Hermon collected two hits and drew seven walks, stealing one base. They loaded the bases in the fifth and cashed in with an RBI walk (junior Max Hopkins) and a sacrifice fly (junior Maddox Kinney). Sophomores Mason Kinney and Tommy Meserve singled.

The Hawks will wrap up their regular season with home games versus Ellsworth (11-1) and Hampden Academy (11-1) at 4:30 on Wednesday and next Monday, respectively, plus a doubleheader versus Presque Isle (3-9) on the road Saturday afternoon.