Brock sparks ‘Jacks rally

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ORONO – A dramatic rally gave the Bangor Lumberjacks their third come-from-behind win in the last five days and a 5-4, 10-inning victory over the North Shore (Lynn, Mass.) Spirit Wednesday night.

The winning run came without the benefit of a hit as Todd Brock drew a leadoff walk, stole second as Josh Brinkley struck out, took third on a fielding error by shortstop Yuri Sanchez, and scored when Spirit catcher Frank Charles dropped a throw home from third baseman Ramon Germaine with one out.

“We battled and scrapped and clawed and that’s kind of the hallmark of my team,” said manager Kash Beauchamp. “We may not be the prettiest, but when all’s said and done, we find a way to win.”

Bangor ended the first half of the Northeast League northern division season with a 21-24 record and tied for third place. North Shore won the division first-half title with a 25-19 mark.

“This was a great win because we’ve got momentum going into the second half, but it may be an expensive win,” said Kash Beauchamp, whose ‘Jacks have won seven of their last nine.

Center fielder Barry Paulk suffered a hamstring injury that could idle him for two weeks or more after sliding into second in the ninth inning. In addition, outfielder Schuyler Doakes is already banged up with a sprained/bruised leg.

Brandon Bowe turned in a solid performance to buck up a maligned bullpen as he notched his first win with 3 2/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief.

“Brandon was outstanding tonight. He and Josh were the players of the game,” Beauchamp said.

The Lumberjacks knotted the game in the top of the ninth, courtesy of a fielder’s choice grounder, back-to-back one-out singles by Paulk and Sandy Martinez, and a sacrifice fly by Donnie Ross.

The way the Lumberjacks have finished this first half is eerily similar to that of last year’s team, one which Lorenzo de la Cruz played a big role on.

“At some point this team has to come around, and we’re starting to win the games that we would lose before. We’re ready for the second half,” de la Cruz said.

Newly activated player-coach Brinkley paid immediate dividends with three hits in four at-bats. The second hit was the big one as he tied the game with a two-out, two-run double to right in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The tie was short-lived as the Spirit scratched for a run in the top of the seventh. Bryan Caruso led off with a walk, moved to second on a bunt, third on a groundout, and home on a two-out single to left by Jason Startari.

Bangor scored the game’s first run in the second as back-to-back-to back singles by Brock, Brinkley, and Edwin Thompson scored Brock.

North Shore tied it up and went ahead by one in the third as Jose Castellanos and Caruso singled to start things off. After a Rob Fisher sacrifice bunt, Yuri Sanchez scored Castellanos with a sacrifice fly and Jason Startari ripped a 1-2 fastball to center for another RBI.

The Spirit spooked Bangor for another run in the fourth after Eddie Muth was hit by a pitch to lead off, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on a throwing error by third baseman Brinkley.

GAME NOTES – First baseman Bryan Britt, who was signed by Bangor two weeks ago, was released after hitting .156 in 14 games. Britt had two home runs, seven RBIs, seven hits, and 22 strikeouts in 45 at-bats. Brinkley, who has played in three games for Bangor this season, was reactivated to take Britt’s roster spot and inserted into Wednesday night’s lineup.

For the fourth time in three nights, the light tower located between home plate and third base blacked out. This was only the second time the blackout caused a game delay, however. Ironically, both occurred at the same time Monday and Wednesday nights, just after 9 p.m. Monday’s delay was 15 minutes in the eighth while Wednesday’s was 24 minutes long in the bottom of the sixth.

LUMBERJACKS 5, SPIRIT 4

(Wednesday Night, 10 innings)

NORTH SHORE BANGOR

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Sanchez, ss 4 0 1 1 Faulk, cf 4 0 0

Startari, 2b 5 0 2 2 Miller, cf 0 0 0

Tejada, dh 5 0 0 0 Melendez, c 0 0 0

Muth, lf 3 1 1 0 Martinez, ss 5 0 0

German, 3b 5 0 1 0 Ross, 1b 4 0 1

Riordan, 1b 4 0 0 0 de la Cruz, dh 5 1 0

Castellanos, rf 4 1 1 0 Brock, 2b-3b 3 0

Caruso, c 3 2 2 0 Brinkley, 3b-lf 5 0 2

Charles, c 0 0 0 0 Thompson, lf-cf 5 0 1

Fisher, cf 1 0 1 0 Hargreaves, c-rf 5 0

Sepulveda, cf-c 0 0 0 0 Tindell, rf 2 0

Solano, rf-2b 1 1 0 0

Totals 34 4 9 3 Totals 39 5 11 4

North Shore 002 100 100 0 ? 4

Bangor 010 002 001 1 ? 5

One out when winning run scored

E?Sanchez 2, Riordan, Charles; Ross, Brinkley, Hargreaves, Tindell; LOB?North Shore 7, Bangor 11; 2B?Brinkley; DP?Startari-Riordan; Martinez-Ross 2; S?Fisher 3; Faulk; SF?Sanchez; Ross; SB?Brock

North Shore IP H R ER BB SO

Morse 6 8 3 3 1 3

Bircher (L, 1-5) 3 1/3 3 2 1 2 1

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Vigue 6 2/3 8 4 3 1 3

Bowe (W, 1-3) 3 1/3 1 0 0 1 5

Morse faced 1 batter in the 7th

HBP?Muth by Vigue; T?3:39; ATT?1,238