BUCKSPORT – Prior to their game with George Stevens Academy Friday, Bucksport baseball coach Mike Cowan lamented that his team was having trouble hitting the ball. The Golden Bucks had been no-hit in their previous outing on Wednesday by John Bapst of Bangor’s Keith Nason.

Travis Pelletier responded with a triple, double and three runs batted in and the Golden Bucks got a good pitching performance from righthander Adam Sheehan in knocking off the previously unbeaten Eagles of Blue Hill 6-4.

The 4-4 Golden Bucks scored three runs in the first inning after Jake Knight slapped the first pitch of the game to right field for a hit and promptly stole second base.

One out later Sheehan drew a walk. Pelletier then drove a long fly ball to right field that hit and rolled to the fence. Knight and Sheehan easily scored on the play. Pelletier came in to score on a single by Robbie Pushard.

Pelletier drove in another run in the third when he plated Marcus Boober, who had been hit by a pitch. Pelletier found the gap in right center field this time for a double.

He drove in another run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly, again to right field.

“[Chris Sargent] was sitting it right on the outside corner all day so I started driving it the other way,” Pelletier explained.

Sheehan gave up just five hits on the day. He started off strong, sitting the Eagles down in order the first two innings. But he ran into trouble in the third inning, allowing two runs after walking the first two batters of the inning. Nick Henry drove Britt Harmon with a sacrifice fly and Harrison Himes came around to score on Mark Clapp’s single.

“I got a high count on some of them and I had some people get full counts and a couple of pitches didn’t fall. But because I didn’t just sit the ball out over the plate they didn’t get any big drives,” Sheehan said.

The Eagles added two more runs in the fifth to pull to within 6-4. Clapp’s bases-loaded walk plated Himes and Henry scored on a sacrifice fly by Sargent.

But Sheehan buckled down the final two innings, allowing just one base runner.

Sheehan was also helped by the flawless defensive effort by the Golden Bucks. Shortstop Nye Gifford, in particular, made a nifty play going up the middle to nab Will Rosenthal’s grounder in the sixth inning and throwing him out.

“The Sheehan boy threw strikes. He started off with a lot of breaking balls, threw those for strikes. He mixed in his high fast ball. Moved it around,” George Stevens coach Dan Kane said.

GOLDEN BUCKS 6, EAGLES 4

George Stevens (7-1) Bucksport (4-4)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Astbury, lf 4 0 1 0 Knight, cf 4 1 0

Clapp, ss 2 0 1 2 Gifford, ss 4 0 0

Sargent, p-3b 3 0 0 1 Sheehan, p 2 0

Cousins, 3b-2b 3 0 0 0 Boober, c 1 1

Candage, dh 3 0 0 0 Pelletier, lf 2 2 3

Conroy, 3b 0 0 0 0 Pushard, dh 3 0 1

Hilts, p 0 0 0 0 Cain, rf 0 0 0

Rosenthal, 2b-rf 3 0 1 0 Jackson, 2b 3 0

Harmon, 1b 3 1 2 0 Wenthworth, 1b 3 0 1

b-Wessel 0 0 0 0 a-Perkins 0 0 0

Himes, c 1 2 0 0 Carmichael, 3b 3 0 0

Henry 1 1 0 1

Totals 23 4 5 4 Totals 25 6 8 6

a-ran for Wentworth in the 3rd; b-ran for Harmon in the 6th

George Stevens 002 020 0 ? 4

Bucksport 302 100 x ? 6

E?Rosenthal; LOB?GSA 4; Bucksport 6; 2B?Harmon; Pelletier; 3B?Pelletier; DP?Sheehan-Wentworth; SF?Henry, Sargent; Pelletier; SB?Harmon; Knight, Pushard, Sheehan

George Stevens IP H R ER BB SO

Sargent (L,1-1) 3 7 5 5 1 4

Hilts 3 1 1 1 1 4

Bucksport IP H R ER BB SO

Sheehan (W,1-1) 7 5 4 4 4 2

HBP?Boober by Sargent; WP?Sheehan; PB?Himes; T?1:53; ATT?150 (est.)