BANGOR – Bob Kelley has been putting forth his best poker face during this high school baseball season.

Finally, somebody called him on it.

Where does this Bangor High pitching staff – the card-playing equivalent of three aces – rank among all the pitching staffs Kelley has had in his 26-year career as head coach of the Rams?

“As far as the depth of the staff, it may be the best since I’ve ever been here,” said Kelley, his lips curling into a slight smile. “It’s just one of those years. I’ve been very pleased so far. You always hope for good things, but you never now how kids are going to react.”

So far the right arms of pitchers Matt Kinney, Eric Murray, and Mark McEwen have reacted better them anybody could have expected.

Including Monday night’s 3-0 victory over Brewer, the Bangor hurlers have run up a 10-1 record with a team earned run average of 0.45. Even more impressive than those astonishing numbers is the fact that the Rams have fanned 119 hitters this season while walking only 15. In 77 innings, they’ve given up 26 hits and six runs, five of which were earned.

“Our pitchers are throwing strikes,” Kelley explained. “Throwing strikes and playing defense – those are the keys to high school baseball.”

While the Bangor team knew pitching was going to be its strength, nobody expected these types of performances:

Kinney, a lanky 6-foot-3 junior, has recorded one no-hitter, a one-hitter, a pair of two-hitters, a three-hitter and a four-hitter.

Murray, a hard-throwing senior, has a remarkable 35-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

And McEwen has yet to give up an earned run through two starts.

“I don’t think anybody could have imagined us being this dominating,” said Murray.

Kinney, at 6-0, is the ace of this multi-ace staff.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on him, but if he works at it and continues to improve he’s got a chance to be the best I’ve ever had,” said Kelley. “He’s not there yet. He’s got good pop and he throws strikes.”

“I was just hoping to come out and throw the best I could,” Kinney said. “So far, I guess it’s been all right.”

Murray has been impressive this season after having problems with his control last year, when he averaged more than a walk an inning. This season, Murray has walked one batter in 23 innings.

“It’s their whole mental attitude toward going out to the mound,” McEwen explains. “They go out there and say they’re unstoppable and they are.”

McEwen, a junior, is not as overpowering as his counterparts, but has been as successful.

“He’s a competitor,” said Kelley. “He’s the kind of guy ythere when the pressure is on. He’s got a lot of self-confidence and he thinks he can do the job. That’s what you want in a pitcher.”

The scariest part about Bangor, however, is the fact that in addition to these three pitchers, sophomore Mike Pelkey, junior Josh Jamieson, senior Craig Bowden, senior Tony Fernandez, and senior Dan Lindsay are other pitchers more than capable of doing the job.

The future, needless to say, looks bright for the Rams.

“It’s going to be tough to come back and have a year like we’re having,” Kinney said, “but we’ve got the people that can do it. I think we’ll be pretty tough next year.”

Expect Kelley to wear that poker face once again. There could be three more aces in the fold next season. ————————————— Matt Kinney Bangor High……………….Junior 1994 Season Statistics W-L ERA IP H R ER BB SO 5-0 0.60 35 9 3 3 11 66

Mark McEwen Bangor High……………….Junior 1994 Season Statistics W-L ERA IP H R ER BB SO 2-0 0.00 11 3 1 0 1 4

Eric Murray Bangor High……………….Senior 1994 Season Statistics W-L ERA IP H R ER BB SO 2-1 0.61 23 11 2 2 1 35