BANGOR – The Bucksport softball team has been a bit cool at the plate lately, but the Golden Bucks’ bats heated up when they had to against John Bapst Wednesday.

Elissa Gordon cracked a two-out, two-run double in the top of the eighth inning to drive in the winning runs for the Bucks in a 4-2 victory over the Crusaders at the Husson College field.

But for the Bucks, now 7-0, just eking out a win wasn’t good enough.

“I think this will be a good wakeup call for us,” Gordon said. “We know now we have to play in the first inning, not just the sixth and the seventh.”

Bucksport scored two runs in the first inning, but managed just one hit after that until the eighth.

Gordon smacked the first pitch she saw into center field, driving in Jessica Taylor and Alice Andrews. Taylor had reached on a fielder’s choice and got to second on an Andrews single, her second of the game.

“The girl got a hit when she had to,” Bapst coach Mike Thomas said. “I told the girls, you have to tip your hat to that. … It basically came down to one swing.”

The Golden Bucks stranded Gordon in the eighth.

John Bapst’s Meghan Brown hit a two-out single in the bottom of the inning but Bucksport pitcher Nikki Smith, who is coming off a bout with strep throat, got a strikeout to end the game.

Smith goes to 6-0 with the four-hitter. She mixed in a drop with her fastball and changeup.

“I was a little tired, but I knew I had to stay strong,” said Smith, who used two drops and a changeup to get the last batter looking.

Taylor and Andrews each singled and scored a run in the top of the first, and Ashley McAllian had an RBI on a groundout.

The Crusaders, now 4-2, tied it up in the bottom of the fifth. Kim Meagher hit a one-out single, stole second and came home on two errors. Heather Laferriere reached on an error, got to second on a fielder’s choice, and scored on an error to make it 2-2. Bapst stranded two runners in that inning.

Brown led the Crusaders with two singles. Meagher also singled in the seventh and got all the way to third on two groundouts but Smith struck out the final batter of the inning.

John Bapst pitcher Gwen Wadleigh was strong in defeat. She gave up just five hits, struck out three and walked two.

GOLDEN BUCKS 4, CRUSADERS 2

Bucksport (7-0) John Bapst (4-2)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Taylor, 2b 4 2 1 0 Stevens, cf 4 0 0

Andrews, c 4 2 2 0 Cluff, ss 3 0 0

Gordon, 3b 4 0 1 2 Brown, 1b 3 0 0

McAllian, lf 4 0 0 1 Mitchell, 3b 4 0 0

Richards, ss 3 0 0 0 Sleeper, c 3 0 0

Murauckas, 1b 3 0 0 0 Meagher, 2b 3 0

Smith, p 3 0 1 0 Laferriere, rf 1 1 0

Jordan, rf 1 0 0 0 Athorp, lf 3 0 0

Damon, rf 1 0 0 0 Carter, dh 3 0 0

Mcdonald, cf 1 0 0 0

Tweedie, cf 1 0 0 0

Totals 29 4 5 3 Totals 27 2 4 0

Bucksport 200 000 02 ? 4

John Bapst 000 020 00 ? 2

E?Murauckas 2, Smith; Brown, Sleeper; LOB?Bucksport 3, John Bapst 5; 2B?Gordon; S?Damon; Brown, Laferriere; SB?Taylor; Meagher

Bucksport IP H R ER BB SO

Smith (W, 6-0) 8 4 2 0 1 4

John Bapst IP H R ER BB SO

Wadleigh (L, 3-2) 8 5 4 2 1 3

WP?Wadleigh; T?1:31; ATT?50