ORONO – Friday night’s opening game of a three-game series against Brockton and a seven-game homestand was billed as Halloween night, but it was more like April Fools’ Day meets Halloween as fans were treated to things both horrific and head-scratching.

The Brockton Rox used two big innings to double up the Bangor Lumberjacks 12-6 on a cool but humid night at Mahaney Diamond at the University of Maine.

Brockton starter Joey Baker improved to 3-0 despite yielding eight hits in six innings and the Rox improved to 13-6. Bangor drops to 6-11.

“Joey’s been throwing super for us. The hits he gave up were basically singles, so he threw the ball good and we were certainly swinging the bats good,” said Brockton manager Ed Nottle, whose team has played at least one game daily for 18 straight days.

Bangor manager Kash Beauchamp worked off some obvious frustration while arguing with the base umpires before being issued his first ejection of the season with one out in the ninth.

“Yeah, a lot of frustration has been building up,” Beauchamp said. “But … I don’t know, the other guy jumped in when I was talking to the other ump and I didn’t need that. I’m taking up for my players. If they want some, they’ll get some from me.

“It was just a bad ballgame. That’s really the first game we’ve taken a butt-kicking all year.”

First baseman Craig Lewis led a 15-hit Rox attack with a triple, three singles, and two RBIs.

The Rox got on the board first with a five-run second inning. Lewis tripled to lead off, Jermaine Swinton hit an infield single, Jake Daubert and Melvin Rosario each hit RBI singles, and Mike Torres cleaned the bases with a three-run, 390-foot homer deep to right center.

The Lumberjacks cut down Brockton’s big lead with five runs of their own in the second. Back-to-back singles by Lorenzo de la Cruz and Jude Voltz were followed by a Mo Blakeney RBI double. A flyout later, Brad Hargreaves ripped a two-run single up the middle. It was the first of three straight singles by Bangor, the last of which was Mitsuru Kobayashi’s two-run shot up the middle.

The tie lasted just two innings as Brockton scored five again in the fifth after starting pitcher Danny Miller was hit by a line drive and left the game.

Miller was struck hard on the left side of his head, just above and to the side of his left eye, by a sharp line drive by leadoff hitter Nestor Smith in the top of the fifth inning. Miller went down in a heap, bleeding from his head.

After being attended to by team trainer Angela Potter and Orono ambulance attendants for 15 minutes, Miller got up on his own power and walked off the field holding a bag of ice and towel to his eye and temple. He was taken away from the field via ambulance.

His condition at Eastern Maine Medical Center was unknown at press time.

“I’m really worried about him. That’s my biggest concern,” Beauchamp said. “Him walking off like that helped our guys, but I’m sure it affected our team.”

Game Notes: Thursday night’s doubleheader sweep of Quebec is something Beauchamp hopes will provide a spark for the Lumberjacks, who have been unable to find any offensive consistency so far in this rain-plagued start of the season.

“That and the doubleheaders have hurt us,” said Beauchamp, whose team has played three in the first three weeks with three more to follow on three successive days in the first week of July. “It’s really stressing our bullpen and our pitching staff, especially since [Jeff] Sparks is on the disabled list.

“We’ve struggled to score runs too and I think it’s basically because of our hitting, which is suffering, consistency-wise, because we haven’t been able to play regularly and get in a groove. We need to be able to play six or seven games in a row.”

Thursday’s sweep snapped a four-game losing streak and was the first extra-inning victory for the Lumberjacks in four chances.

“They’re all struggling, but I know they can hit.” said Beachamp. “I know these guys. They’re going to come out of it. They started to last night.This has been the most frustrating start to a year I’ve ever been through.”

ROX 12, LUMBERJACKS 6

Brockton (13-6) Bangor (6-11)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Smith, cf 6 1 2 0 Kobayashi, 2b 5 0 2

Davis, 2b 5 1 1 0 Brock, 3b 5 0 0

Bustos, ss 6 2 2 0 Ross, rf 3 0 1

Lewis 5 3 4 2 DeLaCruz, dh 4 1 2 0

Swinton, dh 3 1 1 0 Voltz, 1b 4 1 0

a-Medina 0 0 0 0 Blakeney, cf 4 1 1

Daubert, 3b 5 2 2 5 King, lf 4 0 0

Rosario, c 4 1 1 2 Hargreaves, c 3 1 2

Landry, c 0 0 0 0 Miura, ss 3 2 0

Torres, lf 4 1 1 3

Edwards, rf 4 0 1 0

Totals 42 12 15 12 Totals 35 6 10 6

Brockton 050 050 020 ? 12

Bangor 050 010 000 ? 6

a-ran for Swinton in eighth

E? Torres; Voltz 2; LOB? Brockton 10, Bangor 5; 2B? Davis, Bustos, Blakeney; 3B? Lewis; HR? Daubert (1), Torres (2); DP? Voltz (una.), Miura-Kobayashi-Voltz; SF? Ross; SB? Lewis

Brockton IP H R ER BB SO

Baker (W, 3-0) 6 8 6 6 1 3

Stuts 2 1 0 0 0 4

Faulkner 1 1 0 0 1 2

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Miller (L,1-2) 4 7 6 6 0 4

Debold ? 3 4 4 0 1

Tindall 1? 0 0 0 5 1

Kalinowski 2? 3 2 0 1 0

Thomas 1 2 0 0 0 0

HBP?Davis by Debold; WP? Baker; PB? Hargreaves; T? 3:17; ATT? 1,234