Bangor rallies by Pioneers Lumberjacks take over first place

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ORONO – These were the games the Bangor Lumberjacks were losing in the first half of the Northeast League season.

The Lumberjacks’ reversal of fortune continued Monday night as Todd Brock hit a single to left with two outs in the 11th inning to score Lorenzo de la Cruz from second with the winning run and give Bangor a 3-2 victory over the Elmira Pioneers.

“We’ve never been down on ourselves. We just stay together and work it out,” said de la Cruz. “In the first half, we lost a lot of games by one run, two runs … Now it’s a lot different.”

Bangor’s third straight victory – coupled with a loss by Quebec – allows the 7-3 Lumberjacks to take over first place in the north division with a half-game lead. It’s the first time Bangor has owned first place all by itself.

A flurry of midseason moves and an influx of new talent in the infield and the lineup has helped the Lumberjacks reinvent themselves.

“We’re getting the monkey off our back,” said Brock. “Instead of saying ‘How can we lose this game’ we’ve been saying ‘How are we gonna win this one’ now.”

Brock’s hit on a 1-0 fastball from Ken Henderson made a winner out of Santiago Henry (5-2), who relieved starter John Vigue in the ninth and pitched three innings of hitless relief.

“I played with Henderson last year at Berkshire and he likes to throw fastballs, so that’s what I was looking for,” Brock explained. “I was just praying for another chance to make a difference in the game because I struck out in the ninth.”

The Lumberjacks cracked the scoreboard first without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the first inning. Schuyler drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a passed ball, went to third on a wild pickoff throw to second by catcher Alex Marconi, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Donnie Ross.

Elmira (6-5) tied it in the top of the third when Ryan Webb hit a leadoff single, advanced on Cleatus Davidson’s single, and scored on a two-base fielding error by Doakes in center field.

Bangor got the run back with two outs in the third. After reaching on a fielder’s choice, Doakes went to third on Sandy Martinez’ single to right and scored by stealing home on a 1-0 pitch from 17-year-old starting pitcher Ryo Takeuchi.

The Pioneers tied it back up in the sixth. Dennis Abreau led off by flaring a ball to right center that Doakes and right fielder de la Cruz were a bit tardy catching up to. By the time they did, Abreau was on second. A walk and a strikeout later, Abreu scored on Brian Jones single to right.

Bangor had a chance to win the game in the ninth after a hit batter, a de la Cruz single, and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out, but Chris McGhee escaped the jam by striking out pinch-hitter Mark Burke and Brock.

Vigue was solid Monday despite allowing nine hits. He allowed just one earned run in eight innings of work. He also struck out eight batters and walked two.

LUMBERJACKS 3, PIONEERS 2

(Monday Night, 11 innings)

Elmira (6-5) Bangor (7-3)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Davidson, ss 5 0 1 0 Doakes, cf 4 2 0

Abreu, 3b 4 1 2 0 Martinez, ss 4 0 0

Alvarez, lf 3 0 0 0 Ross, 1b 2 0 1

Lehr, 1b 5 0 1 0 O’Sullivan 2b 1 0 0

Jones, dh 5 0 2 1 de la Cruz, rf 4 1 0

Hunter, rf 5 0 1 0 LeBron, lf 3 0 0

Marconi, c 4 0 0 0 Thompson, lf 1 0 0

Bello, 2b 4 0 1 0 Dworken, dh 2 0 0

Webb, cf 4 1 1 0 Burke, dh 1 0 0

Brock, 2b-3b 5 0 2 1

Hargreaves, c 4 0 2 0

Saunders, 3b-1b 4 0 1 0

Totals 39 2 9 1 Totals 35 3 7 2

Elmira 001 001 000 00 ? 2

Bangor 101 000 000 01 ? 3

E? Marconi, Doakes, Brock; LOB? Elmira 7, Bangor 8; 2B? Abreu, Jones; DP? Bello to Lehr, Davidson to Lehr, Brock to Martinez to Ross; SF?Ross; SB? Doakes, de la Cruz, Hargreaves

Elmira IP H R ER BB SO

Takeuchi 5 4 2 1 2 3

Vincent 3 1/3 1 0 0 1 3

McGee 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 3

Henderson (L, 4-3) 2/3 1 1 1 2 1

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Vigue 8 9 2 1 2 8

Henry (W, 5-2) 3 0 0 0 1 2

Vigue pitched to one batter in ninth

HBP? Takeuchi, Vincent; PB? Marconi, Hargreaves; T? 3:11; ATT? 736