December 24, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Raiders, Windjammers topple Golden Bucks> Moro helps Windjammers claim crown

BANGOR – After losing to Winslow in the Eastern Maine final each of the last two years, Bucksport’s baseball team was happy to see anybody not wearing orange and black in this year’s final.

Golden Bucks fans added red and white to the list of banned wardrobe colors Wednesday night as the No. 2 Camden-Rockport Windjammers used the right arm of starting pitcher Jon Moro to push them to the Eastern Maine Class B championship.

Moro pitched all 10 innings of Wednesday night’s low-scoring marathon, struck out 10 while allowing seven hits and four walks, and led the ‘Jammers to a 4-2 victory over top-seeded Bucksport at Mansfield Stadium.

The senior righthander threw 131 pitches, 85 for strikes.

“Coach told me earlier against Rockland when I asked him if I was over my limit, `Son, you’re going to throw 20 if you have to.’ So I knew I was going to go all the way and I felt great,” said Moro, now 6-2.

Moro’s Windjammers will play West champ Gorham, a 3-2 winner over Cape Elizabeth, for the state championship Saturday (11:45 a.m.) at Mansfield Stadium.

The loss dropped the Golden Bucks to 17-2. It was also leaves Bucksport 0-for-6 in regional finals in the last nine years.

“I don’t know what to say. It’s a tough situation,” said Bucks coach David Gonyar. “We’ve been here and we give ourselves the best opportunities to win, which is all you can ask for, but I have to give their kid on the mound all the credit.”

Moro worked ahead in the count and painted the corners effectively with a solid curve and a fastball that ran out and into the strike zone all night.

Catcher Joah Peck, one of only three C-R starters to play the entire game at the same position, knew his ‘Jammers had a golden opportunity in the top of the 10th when Bucksport reliever Buzz Simpson walked the first two batters.

Peck jumped all over a first-pitch hanging knuckleball and singled to left center, scoring Matt Kubel from second.

“I put my hands back and just drove it,” said Peck, who said he’d play all night if he had to. “I haven’t sat out an inning all year. I’ve played every inning all year, but everybody on this team contributes.”

Jay Seymour, one of 16 other players who contributed in some fashion, followed Peck’s lead and swung at the first pitch, another offspeed offering, and knocked a slow-rolling fielder’s choice grounder to short that erased Peck at second, but scored Moro from third.

“Every playoff game, we’ve had at least 13, 15 guys come in and just do little things, but every little thing matters,” said designated hitter Rory O’Donnel, who was lifted for a pinch-runner in the sixth despite having delivered a two-out single that scored C-R’s first two runs in the fourth.

“I don’t mind as long as we win,” he said. “We all do what we need to do. Everyone’s got their part and we all know what we need to do.”

Kurt Vollbardt, the player who ran for O’Donnel, knew what he had to do in the eighth, when he managed to track down a sinking liner deep down the right field line and unleashed a rocket ball to first to catch a runner off first for an unconventional, but inning-ending double play.

“To tell you the truth, we haven’t turned a conventional one all season,” said Moro through a sheepish grin.

Bucksport made it 1-0 in the first on Chad Gilley’s one-out single, a steal of second, and Peter Saunders’ single up the middle. Saunders also delivered the game-tying hit in the sixth with a two-out chopper up the middle.

Windjammers 4, Bucks 2

Camden-Rockport (14-5) Bucksport (17-2)

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

Lippman, lf 5 0 1 0 Beck, ss 4 1 0 0

Roberts, lf 0 0 0 0 Harvey, p-rf 5 0 1 0

Kubel, cf 3 1 0 0 Gilley, c 4 1 1 0

Moro, p 4 1 0 0 Saunders, cf 4 0 2 2

Peck, c 5 1 2 1 Simpson, rf-p 4 0 0 0

Seymour, 3b 5 1 1 1 Pollard, 1b 4 0 0 0

a-Heard 0 0 0 0 Giroux, 3b 3 0 2 0

O’Donnel, dh 1 0 1 2 Roi, dh 2 0 0 0

Vollbardt, rf 0 0 0 0 Gifford, lf 0 0 0 0

Dickerson, dh 2 0 0 0 McHale, dh 2 0 0 0

Neville, 1b 4 0 0 0 Raymond, 2b 3 0 1 0

Price, ss 5 0 1 0

Dugal, ss 0 0 0 0

Wadsworth,2b 3 0 1 0

Horty, 2b 0 0 0 0

b-Nelson 0 0 0 0

Fitzpatrick,2b 1 0 0 0

Totals 38 4 7 4 Totals 35 2 7 2

a-ran for Seymour in eighth

b-ran for Wadsworth in seventh

Camden-Rockport 000 200 0002 – 4

Bucksport 100 001 0000 – 2

E – Beck, Gilley, Giroux 2B – Price; Giroux, Raymond LOB – Camden-Rockport 10; Bucksport 6 DP – Wadsworth-Price-Neville, Vollbardt-Neville; Harvey-Giroux, Giroux-Raymond-Pollard SB – Kubel, Vollbardt; Gilley, Beck, Saunders

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

Camden-Rockport

Moro (W,6-2) 10 7 2 2 4 10

Bucksport

Harvey 7 6 2 1 1 6

Simpson (L,6-1) 3 1 2 2 3 3

HBP – O’Donnel by Harvey, Kubel by Harvey WP – Harvey, Simpson PB – Gilley TIME – 2:39 ATTENDANCE – 352


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