Bangor captures title> Patchell gives Rams a spark

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BANGOR – A year ago today, Tim Patchell was winding up his junior year at Hampden Academy, wondering what he’d do during his summer vacation.

Today, he’s likely dreaming about playing in Saturday’s Class A baseball state championship game. The transfer’s single ignited a three-run, sixth-inning rally Tuesday night as Bangor claimed its third straight Eastern Maine crown with a 4-2 victory over Cony of Augusta at Mansfield Stadium.

Coach Bob Kelley’s third-seeded Rams (17-2), the two-time defending state champ, advance to Saturday’s 1 p.m. state title contest in Standish against Western Maine titlist Biddeford, a 5-3 winner over Sanford on Tuesday.

Top-seeded Cony closed out the season at 16-3.

“The kids just played super defense,” Kelley said. “Just try to pick a star of the game. You could make a case for a lot of different kids.”

Playing on its home diamond, Bangor turned in a sharp team defensive performance behind senior righthander Mike Pelkey, who allowed six hits. Bangor turned a 5-3-5 double play and catcher Keith Dorr picked off a runner at first to help the cause.

“I came in not looking for strikeouts, just for ground balls, because our defense is pretty solid,” Pelkey said. “I thought I pitched pretty well.”

Pelkey retired 13 of 14 batters during one stretch, mixing his fastball and a sweeping curveball. Nate Lajoie had Bangor guessing, mixing a fastball, a sharp slider and a curve, but had some tough luck.

Each team scored a run in the first, but Pelkey and Lajoie locked up in a scoreless duel for the next four innings. Patchell, who transferred back to his native Bangor after living in Hampden for five years, seized his opportunity.

Patchell lined a single to left to open the sixth, then Casey Catell chopped a single over the head of third baseman Brian Turgeon.

“I remember the day my mom told me we were going to back to Bangor, and I was excited to be back with a bunch of my old friends,” Patchell said. “We knew if somebody was going to break it open, it should happen soon.”

Andy Robichaud failed to get down two sacrifice bunt attempts, but beat out an infield single instead, loading the bases.

One out later, Kelley lifted Pelkey, who had struck out twice, in favor of pinch hitter Pat Estey, who grounded into a 6-4 fielder’s choice, pushing a run across.

“Mike Pelkey hit .404 going into this game and we pinch-hit for him. “That’s tough, as a senior, but Pat got the bat on the ball and knocked in the run,” Kelley said, pointing to Pelkey’s unselfishness.

Dorr followed with a towering fly ball to deep left field, where Josh Cushman spun in his tracks, unable to pick the ball out of the blue-gray twilight sky. It dropped behind him for a two-run double.

“I ran as hard as I could, hoping it would get over his head,” Dorr said. “As I rounded first and I saw him [looking into the air], I knew I had a hit and I was so excited.”

Cony scored once in bottom of the sixth as Mark Merrill singled and Lajoie slapped a hit-and-run single to right. Keith Genest delivered an RBI single, but Dorr picked Lajoie off first to help snuff out the rally.

“He was getting off too far and I just threw it down there to keep him honest and he didn’t get back in time,” Dorr said.

Bangor jumped out to a 1-0 lead without a hit in the first. T.J. True reached on a throwing error, stole second, took third on a groundout, and scored on an error.

Cony countered in the bottom of the inning as Lajoie doubled and eventually scored on a wild pitch, although Pelkey could have tagged Lajoie out had he fielded the ball cleanly in front of the plate.

Bangor threatened in the third, but ran itself out of the inning. True reached on an error with one out and advanced on Tom Waterman’s seeing-eye single through the middle.

However,Tim Patchell hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out, then was picked off first by Lajoie, ending the inning.

Vachon beat out an infield hit with one out in the third for Cony, but was erased trying to go from first to third on Lajoie’s 5-3 grounder.

Bangor 4, Cony 2

Bangor (17-2) Cony (16-3)

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

True, cf 4 1 1 0 Vachon, ss 3 1 1 0

Waterman, ss 4 0 1 0 Lajoie, 1b 3 1 2 0

Patchell, lf 4 1 1 0 Genest, 2b 3 0 2 1

Catell, 3b 3 1 2 0 Greve, 1b 2 0 0 0

Robichaud, rf 3 0 1 0 Cushman, lf 3 0 0 0

Goldsmith, dh 3 0 0 0 Young, lf 3 0 0 0

Wilcox, 1b 3 0 0 0 Murch, c 3 0 0 0

Pelkey, p 2 0 0 0 Sirois, dh 3 0 0 0

a-Estey 1 1 0 1 Turgeon, 3b 0 0 0 0

K. Dorr, c 3 0 1 2 Reid, cf 3 0 0 0

A. Dorr, 2b 3 0 0 0 Hall, rf 1 0 0 0

Merrill, rf 1 0 1 0

Totals 30 4 7 3 Totals 28 2 6 1

a-hit into fielder’s choice for Pelkey in the sixth

Bangor 100 003 0 – 4

Cony 100 001 0 – 2

E – Turgeon, Vachon, Genest 2B – K. Dorr; Lajoie LOB – Bangor 5; Cony 3 DP – Catell to Wilcox to Catell SB – True, Robichaud, Estey; Genest

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

Bangor

Pelkey (W,5-0) 7 6 2 1 1 3

Cony

Lajoie (W,5-1) 7 7 4 3 0 5

WP – Pelkey TIME – 1:40 ATTENDANCE – 443