ORONO – Despite being 5-foot-7 and weighing 185 pounds, Robert “Popeye” Cole still has a lot of speed and it showed Thursday night.

Cole raced home from third on a passed ball in the eighth to help give the Bangor Blue Ox a 6-4 Northeast League victory over the Adirondack Lumberjacks. The victory snapped Bangor’s four-game losing streak.

Reliever Chris Strahowski gave Cole a one-out walk in the eighth and he advanced to third on Tim Morrow’s single to right. Cole then scored when Strahowski’s ball-four pitch veered inside and past catcher Jim Robare.

“I was a lot faster when I was a lot lighter,” Cole chuckled. “We’ve been in a lot of tight games lately, and coach [Manager Dick Phillips] put the hit and run on, and I was just doing my best to get to third base so I can get that winning run set up.

“I’m glad it worked out for us,” he said. “Tee [Morrow] made a good hit to get me to third and it worked out real good.”

The win improved the Blue Ox to 12-11, 4-8 in the last 12 games. Adirondack fell to 7-15.

“We were on a real bad streak here so I’m glad,” Cole said. “Maybe this will pump us back up and help us start winning here.”

Matthew Frias’ tailing fastball overpowered the Lumberjacks in the last two innings as he earned his first win in nine appearances.

The lefthander struck out four, walked one, and gave up two hits, including a solo home run to pinch hitter Jon Mueller with two outs in the ninth.

“The catcher Carlos [Mota] said my fastball had pretty good pop tonight, and he kept calling for the fastball,” Frias said. “One time in the last inning, I thought he called a curveball, and I threw a curveball, but he wanted me to throw a fastball.

“I was surprised he called so many fastballs but they weren’t hitting it,” he said.

Starter Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd held Adirondack to three runs, with only one earned, over seven innings. He gave up seven hits and struck out two before leaving the game tied at 3-3.

Kevin Fogg’s one-out sacrifice fly lifted Adirondack to a 1-0 first-inning lead, when he plated Jeff Cook, who notched a leadoff single.

Bangor struck back by taking advantage of Adirondack starter Frank Chibaro for a pair of runs in the first.

Chibaro hit No. 2 batter Lonnie Goldberg with one out, and Goldberg advaned to second on a passed ball. Chibaro then walked Cole, and threw a wild pitch to put Blue Ox runners on second and third.

Corey Parker, who was batting .312 entering the game, kept his hot bat going as he slapped a two-run double down the right-field line for a 2-1 Blue Ox lead.

Mota ripped his third double of the season to lead off the second, and raced home on Chris Hummell’s single to center for a 3-1 Bangor advantage.

The Lumberjacks tied the game at 3-3 in the third on Kenny Craddox’s RBI groundout and a throwing error by third baseman Garret Quaintance.

Rob Darnell’s bunt single got the Lumberjacks rolling and was followed by Rob Balint’s pop-fly single to center.

Bangor second baseman Goldberg’s dive reined in Craddox’s grounder for an out but he couldn’t keep Darnell from scoring. Quaintance’s throw on Jim Robare’s grounder hit the dirt and Balint scored.

Morrow and Hummell each had two singles for the Blue Ox.

Cook and Balint powered the Lumberjacks’ nine-hit attack with two singles apiece.

Blue Ox 6, Lumberjacks 4

Adirondack Bangor

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

J. Cook, cf 5 1 2 0 Cox, cf 4 0 0 0

Coates, 2b 4 0 1 0 Goldberg, 2b 3 1 0 0

Fogg, ss 3 0 0 1 Cole, lf 1 2 0 0

Doucette, 1b 4 0 1 0 Morrow, rf 4 1 2 0

M’Donald,dh 4 0 0 0 Parker, 1b 3 1 1 2

Darnell, rf 3 1 1 0 G. Davis, dh 4 0 0 0

Janssen, rf 1 0 0 0 Quaintance, 3b 4 0 1 2

Balint, 3b 4 1 2 0 Mota, c 4 1 1 0

Craddox, lf 3 0 1 1 Hummell, ss 3 0 2 1

Mueller, lf 1 1 1 1

Robare, c 3 0 0 0

Totals 35 4 9 3 Totals 30 6 7 5

Adirondack (6-16) 100 200 001 – 4

Bangor (12-11) 210 000 03x – 6

E – Quaintance 2 2B – Doucette, Parker, Mota HR – Mueller LOB – Adirondack 6; Bangor 5 DP – Fogg to Doucette SB – J. Cook, Morrow SF – Fogg

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

Adirondack

Chibarro 4 4 3 3 1 1

Hayes 3 1 0 0 1 5

Strahowski (L,0-1) 1/3 1 3 3 2 0

R. Cook 2/3 1 0 0 0 1

Bangor

Boyd 7 7 3 1 0 2

Frias (W, 1-0) 2 2 1 1 1 4

HBP – Goldberg by Chibarro TIME – 3:00 ATTENDANCE – 1191