Brewer teams gain wins over rival Rams> Spencer, Jansen power Witches

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BREWER – If Brewer’s baseball team goes on to play deep into the playoffs this year, it can point to Saturday’s game with cross-river rival Bangor as the catalyst.

Sure, the Witches had a solid 6-2 record coming in, but they were also riding a four-game losing streak to the Rams dating back to early 1999; not to mention the fact the Rams were 8-0 and had outscored their orange-and-black foes 26-9 in their last three meetings.

So it was easy to see why the Witches celebrated like Big Game lottery winners after Saturday’s 7-6 comeback win on an overcast day at Heddericg Field. For Brewer, handing Bangor its first loss of the season was like hitting the jackpot.

“We needed the win, and I knew we could beat them,” said Brewer pitcher Ryan Hatch, who turned in a gritty, 130-pitch, complete-game effort. “We need these points. It’s just… we needed this.”

Hatch shook off a dreadful 40-pitch first inning in which a Brewer fielding error on a double-play ball preceded a two-run single up the middle by Andy Sullivan and helped the Rams score three runs on four hits.

It looked like Bangor might put it away early as it went up 5-0 in the third on a two-out, two-run single to left center by Matt Anderson.

Then Brewer coach and Bangor alum Dave Morris huddled his team together to encourage them to keep fighting while getting smarter and more aggressive at the plate.

Witches leadoff hitter Justin Spencer got the message. The center fielder bashed a 2-1 fastball 360 feet, over the fence in left center, to put Brewer on the board with one out in the third.

“Someone had to get us started, and with the lineup we have, it’s hard to stop us once we get going,” said Brewer first baseman Aaron Jansen (2-for-4, two RBIs).

Spencer’s shot seemed to re-invigorate Brewer’s batters, Hatch, and the defense. After setting down the Rams on 14 pitches in the top of the fourth, Hatch led off with a single, moved to second on a groundout, went to third on an error, and scored on Spencer’s two-out single through the left side.

After Ryan Snell drew a walk to load the bases, Joel Barrett punched a tough grounder to the Rams third baseman Justin Libbey’s left side. Libbey came up with the ball and tried to tag Spencer out as he was running to third, but Spencer avoided the tag and Barrett beat out the throw to first to make it 5-3 Rams and chased Rams starter Barrett Dionne.

Shawn Bouchard’s solo homer 380 feet to right center in the fifth made it 6-3 and the Rams looked poised to add more after loading the bases with two out in the sixth. But Spencer’s sprinting, one-handed, shoestring, highlight-reel catch of a sinking liner by Jeremy Karam to left center ended the threat.

Spencer then led off by scorching a single down the left-field line. An out and a walk later, Jansen ripped Travis Brooker’s first pitch into the left-field corner for a two-run double. Brooker then gave way to Andy Sullivan, who gave up an RBI single to shallow left center by Adam Freeman and a double to Hatch. Freeman then scored the winning run on a dropped sinking flare to shallow left.

Hatch then retired Bangor 1-2-3 for his first win against the Rams.

“I think the thing I’m most proud of with these kids is not giving up when they’re down five,” Morris said. “They believed in themselves and they came away with the win.”

Witches 7, Rams 6

Bangor boys (8-1) Brewer (7-2)

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

Baird, cf 4 1 1 0 Spencer, cf 4 2 3 2

Johnson, 2b 2 1 1 0 Snell, ss 2 1 0 0

Libbey, 3b 4 1 0 0 Barrett, 3b 2 0 1 1

Sullivan, dh-p 3 0 2 2 Jansen, 1b 4 1 2 2

a-Worcester 0 1 0 0 Freeman, dh 4 1 1 1

Karam, 1b 4 1 2 0 Morrill, lf 0 0 0 0

Bouchard, c 4 1 1 1 b-Doucette 0 0 0 0

Bombardier, ss 4 0 0 1 Hatch, p 4 1 2 0

Anderson, lf 4 0 1 2 Work, rf 3 0 1 0

Vanidestine, rf 2 0 1 0 Griffin, c 3 0 0 0

c-Cook 1 0 0 0

Cote, 2b 4 1 0 0

Totals 31 6 9 6 Totals 31 7 10 6

a-ran for Sullivan in third

b-ran for Freeman in fifth

c-grounded out for Griffin in sixth

Bangor 302 010 0 – 6

Brewer 001 204 x – 7

E – Johnson 2, Anderson; Cote 2 2B – Karam; Jansen, Hatch HR – Bouchard (1); Spencer (2) LOB – Bangor 8; Brewer 11 SB – Vanidestine 2, Johnson; Work, Spencer

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

Bangor

Dionne 3 2/3 5 3 1 2 2

Brooker 1 2/3 3 3 3 3 1

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

Brewer

Hatch (W,2-1) 7 9 6 5 3 7

HBP – Johnson by Hatch PB – Griffin TIME – 1:59 ATTENDANCE – 94