BANGOR – Offense has been scarce lately when the Bangor Rams and Brewer Witches get together for a little baseball.

Monday afternoon was no exception as Bangor starter Josh Young outdueled Brewer’s Chad Gomm and the Rams took advantage of two Brewer miscues for an unearned run in a 1-0 victory at Mansfield Stadium.

Both starters went the distance, combining to throw 123 of 190 pitches for strikes while allowing 12 total hits.

“I don’t know if there’s any two finer pitchers in the league, or in the state for that matter,” said coach David Morris, whose Witches dip to 2-2.

Both also got off to hot starts. Young, a righthander, struck out five of the first seven batters he faced while lefty Gomm mowed down three of his first five.

Young (2-0) threw 63 of 86 pitches for strikes as he allowed five hits and issued one walk while notching eight strikeouts – six of which came on called third strikes.

“I took that as a token of how my control was working,” said Young. “It pumped us up and helped me with my confidence, knowing I could hit the spots.”

Young mixed his fastball and curve effectively, going with the speed early and then opting for a heavier mix of breaking balls later in the game.

“The difference between Josh and guys we’ve had in the past is he’s a pitcher,” said Bangor coach Jeff Fahey, whose Rams are 4-0. “He just doesn’t go up there and throw hard. He makes’em chase and has an idea how to pitch guys. He’s just outstanding.”

Bangor scored its lone run in the third inning. Leadoff man Nate Hall led off with a single in his second straight at-bat and then moved to second on a Nick LaRochelle bunt. After a wild pitch sent him to third, Hall scored on a ground ball fielding error.

“Jeff does a great job preparing those guys. The thing is, with Bangor, you give them an open door and they go through it,” Morris said. “We had a couple opportunities, but didn’t take advantage of them.”

The best came in the fourth. Zac Bouzan-Kaloustian led off with a single to left, stole second, and then advanced to third as the catcher’s throw to second was too high. Young then struck out the next hitter, looked Bouzan-Kaloustian back before getting out No. 2 on a 1-3 groundout, and then got out of it as Mike LaRochelle made a sliding catch of a foul ball inches from the first base dugout and fence.

Gomm walked no one while collecting five strikeouts.

Brewer also got runners to third in the fifth and sixth, but each time, Young was able to escape the jam by keeping the ball in the infield.

“He’s especially tough with guys on base,” Fahey said. “I just think his overall command of pitches and getting ahead in the count early was big, but even when he got behind, he pretty much got those guys too.

RAMS 1, WITCHES 0

Brewer (2-2) Bangor (4-0)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Sargent, cf 2 0 0 0 Hall, rf 3 1 0

Bzan-Kalstian, 2b 2 0 1 0 N.LaRochelle, 2b 0

McAvoy, lf 3 0 1 0 Hackett, 3b 3 0 0

Kotredes, 3b 3 0 1 0 Young, p 3 0 0

Patterson, 1b 3 0 0 0 a-Gallant 0 0

Morrow, dh 3 0 1 0 Worster, cf 3 0 0

b-Caron 0 0 0 0 Treadwell, lf 3 0 0

Sutherland, rf 3 0 1 0 Dowe, c 3 0 0

Caldwell, c 3 0 0 0 Heath, ss 3 0 0

Davis, ss 2 0 0 0 Dennis, dh 2 0 0

M.LaRochelle, 1b 0 0 0

Totals 24 0 5 0 Totals 25 1 7 0

a-ran for Young in 3rd, b-ran for Morrow in 5th

Brewer 000 000 0 ? 0

Bangor 001 000 x ? 1

E?Bouzan-Kaloustian, Gomm, Davis; Young, Dowe; LOB?Brewer 5, Bangor 7; 2B?Dowe; S?Bouzan-Kaloustian; N. LaRochelle; SB?Bouzan-Kaloustian; Treadwell

Brewer IP H R ER BB SO

Gomm (L, 1-1) 6 7 1 0 0 5

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Young (W, 2-0) 7 5 0 0 1 8

WP?Gomm 2; T?1:44; ATT?154