BREWER – After a tough loss to Hampden Tuesday, the Bangor softball team didn’t haul out a pitching machine. The Rams didn’t work on hitting mechanics. And they didn’t set aside any special time to work on the offense.

Instead, they talked about getting things done from the plate. And they got their heads back into the game.

Bangor certainly did that Thursday evening against Brewer. The Rams pounded out 15 hits and undefeated pitcher Shelby Soohey fired a two-hitter as the Rams rolled to a 14-1 victory over cross-river rival Witches in five innings at Coffin Field.

Bangor is now 8-2. Brewer falls to 6-3 after its second straight loss.

“We talked about how everyone was in a slump and we needed to set the tone for the rest of the games,” said Bangor’s Rachael Dube, who drove in two runs on two singles and a double and scored twice. “We wanted to show everyone that we could come out of it and play good softball.”

Talk about setting a tone – Tuck led off the game with a double and scored on a Dube single in the first inning.

“It’s my job as a leadoff batter, to get on,” Tuck said. “[Jen Jimmo] moved me over.”

But the Rams did the most damage in the second inning courtesy of a two-out, seven-run outburst.

Brewer pitcher Sherri Capponi opened the inning with a strikeout, walked Amanda Johnson, and induced a flyout for the second out.

Bangor’s Ashley Tower singled to keep the inning alive, and the two baserunners scored on Tuck’s first triple, a towering shot to left-center. Tuck scored on a fielding error that allowed Jimmo to reach first. Jimmo advanced to second on a passed ball and scored when Dube doubled to center field.

Three more runs scored on errors and a Soohey RBI single before the Witches got the final out of the inning.

“We gave up a lot of runs with two outs, that was the big thing,” Brewer coach Kelly Cookson said. “If we had been able to get that third out in a couple of those innings, it would have been a respectable game. But their veteran experience just carried them through. This part of the season you expect your veterans to take over, and they did.”

Tuck got the Rams going again in the third with a one-out triple. Jimmo singled to plate Tuck, Dube hit a single, and Huckins doubled to drive in Jimmo and Dube. Huckins scored on a Warner single, and Warner came in on a single by Johnson.

“We stepped up the intensity,” Huckins said. “That was our goal going in, to hit through the order.”

Soohey (5-0) held the Witches hitless through the first three innings, and allowed only three baserunners (she hit a batter, walked one, and another reached on an error). The junior righty struck out five and walked one.

Not only did Tuck have a stellar game at the plate (especially in the wake of an 0-for-4 outing against Hampden Tuesday), but she continued her near-perfect play at third base. Tuck and first baseman Huckins (the Tuck-to-Huck connection, as Richards calls it) had one of the heads-up plays of the game when Soohey dropped a pop-up in the second inning and Tuck quickly grabbed the ball and threw to Huckins just in time for the out.

Brewer’s only run and lone hits came in the bottom of the fourth. Katie Freeman hit a one-out single and scored on a Capponi triple to right-center.

Capponi struck out two and walked two in the loss.

Rams 14, Witches 1

Bangor (8-2) Brewer (6-3)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Tuck, 3b 4 3 3 2 DeFilipp, cf 2 0 0

Jimmo, 2b 4 2 2 1 A. Freeman, ss 2 0 0

Dube, c 4 2 3 2 Higgins, 2b 2 0 0

Huckins, 1b 3 2 2 3 K. Freeman, lf 2 1 0

Soohey, p 4 0 1 1 McAvoy, 3b 1 0 0

a-Boyorak 0 1 0 0 Capponi, p 2 0 1

Warner, cf 4 1 1 1 b-Wolfe 0 0 0 0

Johnson, dh 3 1 1 1 McLaughlin, rf 2 0 0

M. Chase, rf 0 0 0 0 Reed, dh 2 0 0

Wright, rf 0 0 0 0 Wing, c 0 0 0 0

Smith, lf 3 0 0 0 Coutts, 1b 1 0 0

c-Holland 1 0 0 0 d-Michaud 1 0 0

Tower, ss 3 2 2 0

Totals 33 14 15 11 Totals 17 1 2 1

a-ran for Soohey in the second; b-ran for Capponi in the fourth; c-grounded out for Smith in the fifth; d-grounded out for Coutts in the fifth

Bangor 175 10 ? 14

Brewer 000 10 ? 1

E?Tower; A. Freeman 2, K. Freeman; LOB?Bangor 6, Brewer 3; 2B?Tuck, Warner, Dube; 3B? Tuck 2; Capponi

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Shoohey (5-0) 5 2 1 1 1 5

Brewer IP H R ER BB SO

Capponi (6-3) 5 15 14 11 2 2

HBP?DeFilipp by Soohey; PB? Wing; T?1:19; ATT?200 (est.)