ORONO – A two-hit pitching marvel by player-coach Kevin Pincavitch got the Bangor Lumberjacks off to a good start in the opener of Friday’s Northeast League doubleheader, but the offense couldn’t sustain its momentum in the second and Allentown (Pa.) salvaged a split.

Pincavitch gave the Lumberjacks their league-leading fifth shutout of the season in a 5-0 victory while the Ambassadors used solid relief pitching and opportunistic hitting to take a 6-3 win in the nightcap at Mahaney Diamond.

In the first game, Pincavitch was masterful as he threw 53 of 83 pitches for strikes..

“I think I made three bad pitches in the whole game,” said Pincavitch (3-1). “My fastball was effective today, but it was mainly my slider that worked the best.”

The 5-foot-10 Pincavitch struck out eight batters and walked none.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to [catcher Luis] Melendez. He and I were on the same page,” Pincavitch said. “Last game we were a little off, but today I think I only shook him off three or four times.”

Bangor is now 15-23 while Allentown goes to 16-21.

The Lumberjacks already had more runs than Pincavitch would need when Bryan Britt came to the plate with runners at second and third and one out in the sixth inning. Britt pounced on a 1-0 offering from Nolan Fry and sent it 400 feet to left center and over the fence for his second homer of the season and a 5-0 lead.

“The whole game I was kind of sitting on offspeed stuff and trying to hit to right, but that first pitch was fastball right there and I almost went back on my game plan,” said Britt. “I’m glad I didn’t.”

Bangor came up with a run in both the first and second innings. After the newly signed Schuyler Doakes reached base on a shortstop fielding error, a walk moved him to second. One out later, he scored on a single to right center by Lorenzo de la Cruz. In the second, Todd Brock doubled and came home on a Luis Melendez single.

In the second game, Bangor took a 2-1 lead in the fourth, thanks to a Donnie Ross leadoff walk, a de la Cruz single, and an RBI double by Britt. Two wild pitches allowed Britt to score the go-ahead run.

Allentown had a quick answer in the fifth in the form of three runs on three hits, a walk, and an error on a pickoff attempt.

Bangor got a run back in the fifth, courtesy of two walks, a hit batter, and an RBI fielder’s choice grounder. The Lumberjacks had a chance to tie it the next inning after Todd Brock led off with a single and stole second, but two groundouts, an intentional walk, and a fly ball squelched the threat.

The Ambassadors put the game out of reach with two insurance runs in the seventh as reliever Roger Kalinowski yielded four hits.

First baseman Ryan Bordenick led the Ambassadors with a single, a double, and two runs.

“We hit the ball hard right in the first game and didn’t have anything to show for it, but in the second we found the gaps with some balls that weren’t hit that hard and we took advantage of some mistakes they made,” Bordenick said.

GAME NOTES – The Lumberjacks continued to chop some familiar faces from the roster and stack it with speed as they finished totally revamping their outfield by acquiring Doakes off waivers from the Ambassadors. Doakes paid some immediate dividends even though he went hitless in his Bangor debut as he reached on an error and scored in the first. To make room for Doakes, Bangor waived Mo Blakeney despite being second on the team with 15 RBIs and seven doubles in 35 games.

“What’s disappointing is when everybody else was struggling, I was hitting,” said Blakeney, who returned to play pro ball after a four-year layoff. “I know I can play in this league.”

Ironically, Blakeney, who was hitting .219 when he was released, worked out for Allentown in pregame fielding and batting practice and he may be signed by the Ambassadors later this weekend.

“I think they like me and hopefully I’m going to sign with them tomorrow,” said Blakeney, who works year-round as a hitting coordinator for the Greensboro (N.C.) Batting Center baseball academy. “I’m not holding any grudges because they gave me a chance to come back. But I’m going to come back, and whoever I get with, I’m gonna prove they gave up on me too early.”

Blakeney’s departure leaves Bangor with just four of the original 10 position players from the start of the season.

LUMBERJACKS 5, AMBASSADORS 0

(Friday’s First Game)

Allentown Bangor

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Diaz, ss 3 0 0 0 Paulk, cf 3 0 0

Gonzalez, 3b 3 0 0 0 Doakes, lf 3 1 0

Davilla, 2b 2 0 0 0 Ross, 3b 1 1 0

Macchi, lf 3 0 1 0 de la Cruz, rf 3 1 1

Schmidt, rf 3 0 1 0 Britt, 1b 3 1 3

Bordenick, dh 3 0 0 0 Brock, ss 3 0

Acosta, 1b 2 0 1 0 Thompson, dh 3 0 0

Moore, c 2 0 0 0 Melender, c 3 0 1

Harris, cf 2 0 0 0 Hargreaves, 2b 2 0 0

Totals 23 0 3 0 Totals 24 5 8 5

Allentown 000 000 0 ? 0

Bangor 110 003 x ? 5

E?Diaz; LOB?Ambassadors 3, Lumberjacks 3; 2B?de la Cruz, Brock; HR?Britt (2); DP?Brock to Hargreaves to Britt

Allentown IP H R ER BB SO

Fry (L, 3-2) 6 8 5 4 2 6

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Pincavitch (W, 3-1) 7 3 0 0 0 8

HBP? Daville by Pincavitch; WP? Fry; T? 1:49

AMBASSADORS 6, LUMBERJACKS 3

(Friday’s Second Game)

Allentown (16-21) Bangor (15-23)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Diaz, ss 3 2 2 1 Faulk, cf 3 0 0

Gonzalez, 2b 3 0 1 0 Doakes, 2b 3 0 0

Davilla, dh 2 0 1 1 Ross, 3b 1 1 0

Roche, rf 3 0 0 0 de la Cruz, rf 4 0 1

Macchi, lf 3 0 0 0 Britt, 1b 4 1 1

Schmidt, 3b 3 1 1 0 Brock, ss 2 0 0

Bordenick, 1b 3 2 2 0 Thompson, dh 3 0

Stevens, c 3 1 1 0 Groce, lf 3 0 0

Harris, cf 3 0 0 0 Hargreaves, c 1 1 0

Melendez, c 0 0 0 0

Totals 26 6 8 3 Totals 24 3 6 2

Allentown 100 030 2 ? 6

Bangor 000 210 0 ? 3

E?Bowe; LOB?Allentown 4, Bangor 8; 2B?Diaz, Bordenick; 3B?de la Cruz; S?Gonzalez, Doakes; SF?Roche; SB?Brock

Allentown IP H R ER BB SO

Kelly (W,2-0) 4 4 3 3 4 2

Gomez 2 1 0 0 2 1

Clark (S,4) 1 1 0 0 0 1

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Bowe (L,0-3) 4 2/3 4 4 4 3 2

Henry 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1

Kalinowski 1 4 2 2 0 1

HBP?Faulk by Kelly; WP?Kelley 2; BK?Bowe; PB?Hargreaves; T?2:31; ATT?848