HAMPDEN – Bangor High School sophomore second baseman Tommy Waterman had been in a slump and said the fact he had been pressing to snap out of it actually contributed to it.

So Waterman took a different approach and it worked as he went three-for-three with a homer and four RBIs to lead Bangor to a come-from-behind 9-7 win over the gritty Hampden Academy Broncos Wednesday afternoon.

“I just tried to stay calm today,” said Waterman, whose two-run single in the sixth inning capped a three-run rally that erased a 6-5 Hampden lead and gave the Rams the lead for good.

It was Waterman’s first three-hit game of the season.

Senior shortstop Mike Pelkey also had a three-hit game and it was his seventh-inning homer that gave the Rams some welcome breathing room. Pelkey’s base hit triggered the sixth-inning rally.

Bangor will take a 14-2 record and a seven-game winning streak into the Eastern Maine Class A playoffs while the Broncos concluded a 6-10 season.

The Broncos rallied from a 5-0 deficit to take a 6-5 lead behind a four-run fifth inning. Chris Knickerbocker, who went 3-for-3 for Hampden, had a run-scoring double in the fifth and Shane McDougall had an RBI single.

Reliever Jake Civiello, who picked up his second win, had surrendered singles to McDougall and Dustin Campbell, but pitched out of further damage with runners on second and third and nobody out thanks to his pick-off at third.

Pelkey then opened the decisive sixth-inning rally by grounding a single to center. One out later, Pelkey stole second and scored on pinch-hitter Pat Estey’s opposite-field single to left.

T.J. True lined a single to right and Estey continued to third when right fielder Derek Dubois had the ball bounce off his chest for an error. True stole second and both scored when Waterman bounced a single over the glove of drawn-in first baseman Matt Gilbert.

“I was just trying to put my bat on the ball,” said Waterman.

Andy Robichaud relieved Civiello with two outs and a man on first in the sixth and hit Ben Preston with his first pitch, and gave up an RBI single to Dubois that cut the lead to 8-7. But he got McDougall to fly to left to end the threat.

Pelkey then gave the Rams a valuable insurance run when he hit reliever Shawn McFarlin’s first pitch over the left center field fence with two outs in the seventh.

“He threw me a belt-high fastball. I knew it was gone when I hit it,” said Pelkey.

“It was a little high,” said McFarlin.

The determined Broncos tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh when McFarlin reached on a wild pitch on his swinging strike three and Gilbert lined a single to right.

But Robichaud threw out McFarlin at third on Mike McInnis’ attempted sacrifice and induced pinch-hitter Beau Thomas to hit into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.

“I didn’t have my velocity so I tried to place the ball on the corners. I got lucky,” said Robichaud, whose save was his first of the season.

Waterman’s solo homer in the first and RBI single in the fourth, and Jason Goldsmith’s two-run single in the third had helped stake Bangor to its 5-0 lead.

Bangor Coach Bob Kelley said he was bothered by the way his team lost its poise when Hampden rallied but added that he was happy with his team’s 13-hit attack.

“We swung the bats very well against a good pitcher (Campbell),” said Kelley. “And we didn’t quit after falling behind by a run.”

Hampden Coach Tony Smart said, “We showed a lot of character coming back from a 5-0 deficit. You have to give Bangor credit. They made the big plays when they had to.”

Rams 9, Broncos 7

Bangor (14-2) Hampden (6-10)

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

True, cf 4 2 2 0 King, lf 4 1 1 0

Waterman, 2b 3 2 3 4 Knick’bocker,cf 3 3 3 1

Patchell, lf 4 0 0 0 Preston, dh 3 2 1 1

Catell, 3b 3 1 1 0 Cyr, ss 0 0 0 0

Goldsmith, dh 4 1 1 2 Dubois, 3b 3 1 2 1

Philbrick, rf 0 0 0 0 McDougall, c 4 0 1 1

Robicha’d,rf-p 4 0 1 0 Campbell, p 2 0 1 0

Pelkey, ss 4 2 3 2 a-Dority 1 0 0 1

K. Dorr, c 4 0 1 0 McFarlin, p 1 0 0 0

Wilcox, 1b 3 0 0 0 Gilbert, 1b 3 0 1 0

b-Estey 1 1 1 1 McInnis, 2b 2 0 0 0

c-Bristol 1 0 0 0

Knaide, 3b 2 0 0 0

d-Bennett 1 0 0 0

e-Thomas 1 0 0 0

Totals 34 9 13 9 Totals 31 7 10 5

a – grounded out for Campbell in 4th inning

b – singled for Wilcox in 6th inning

c – lined out for McInnis in 5th inning

d – struck out for Knaide in 4th inning

e – grounded into double play for Knaide in 7th inning

Bangor 103 103 1 – 9

Hampden 000 241 0 – 7

E – True, Pelkey, Patchell; Cyr, King, Dubois 2B – Knickerbocker HR – Waterman (2), Pelkey (2) LOB – Bangor 6, Hampden 9 DP – Cyr to Gilbert; Waterman to Pelkey to Wilcox SB – True, Waterman, Catell 2, Pelkey, Dorr; Knickerbocker, Gilbert

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

Bangor

Arsenault 4 5 6 5 4 6

Civiello (W,2-0) 1 2/3 3 1 1 0 2

Robichaud (S,1) 1 1/3 2 0 0 0 0

Hampden

Campbell (L,2-4) 5 1/3 11 8 7 2 5

McFarlin 1 2/3 2 1 1 0 2

HBP – Preston (by Robichaud) WP – Arsenault, Robichaud, Campbell 2 BK – Arsenault TIME – 2:20 ATTENDANCE – 51