‘Jacks don’t let up Bangor wins; out of playoffs

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ORONO – If Bangor Lumberjacks coach Kash Beauchamp was looking for signs of a letdown from his players on a night Bangor was officially eliminated from the playoff hunt, he had reasons to smile at the end of a season which hasn’t produced a lot of smiles.

The Lumberjacks backed an effective start by lefthander Matt Scheuing, who drew a late starting nod after Kevin Pincavitch was scratched, with a 13-hit attack to produce a 9-4 victory over Allentown (Pa.) on a cool Tuesday night at Mahaney Diamond.

The 18-22 Lumberjacks remained seven games behind Quebec, but the Capitales’ win made it mathematically impossible for Bangor to catch them in the Northeast League’s North Division.

Scheuing absorbed nine hits over 6 1/3 innings, but gave up four runs – three earned – while walking two batters and striking out four to earn the first victory of his professional career.

“Guys have to leave an impression for whether we want them back or not next year, so it’s very important. Plus, if a guy’s going to quit now, we’re obviously not going to want him back,” said Beauchamp. “Matt’s a guy, along with a couple other guys, who are in position to leave a good impression.”

Another was Steve O’Sullivan, who drew a rare start at shortstop and responded with a great fielding play along with two hits in two at-bats plus two walks and two runs.

Bangor took a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a single by Brad Hargreaves and doubles by Juan LeBron, Lorenzo de la Cruz, and Todd Brock. De la Cruz was caught off second and tagged out in a rundown, costing the Lumberjacks another run.

“I’m sure having the pressure off has relaxed us a little, but it’s been a rough season so we’re just trying to finish on a positive side,” said Hargreaves, who had two singles and two RBIs.

Allentown answered with a run in the second via three straight singles by Marlon Roche, Garret Larkin and Kevin Moore. The Ambassadors tied the score in the third with a leadoff double by Jorge Diaz, a sacrifice bunt, and RBI groundout by Greg Schmidt.

The Lumberjacks grabbed a 7-2 lead in the third as de la Cruz drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a Mark Burke single, and scored on a one-out single to right by Sandy Martinez. O’Sullivan singled in Burke before Edwin Thompson doubled home Martinez and O’Sullivan before scoring on Schuyler Doakes’ single – a slow chopper to short.

Allentown got a run back with a solo home run by Larkin in the fourth.

Two more Bangor runs came via a two-run single to right by Brad Hargreaves with an out in the fifth.

The Ambassadors made it 9-4 in the seventh with a Jason Williams’ leadoff double and a one-out single by Diaz.

LUMBERJACKS 9, AMBASSADORS 4

(Tuesday Night)

Allentown 4 (14-26) Bangor 9 (18-22)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Harris, cf 5 0 0 0 Doakes, 2b 3 0 1

Diaz, 2b 5 1 3 1 Hargreaves, c-1b 5 2

Davilla, 1b 1 0 0 0 LeBron, lf 5 1 1

Rosenthal, 1b-c 1 0 0 0 delaCruz, rf 2 1

Schmidt, lf 4 0 0 1 Paulk, cf 1 0 0

Macchi, dh 4 0 0 0 Burke, 1b 4 1 0

Roche, rf 4 1 2 0 Saunders, c 0 0 0

Larkin, 3b 4 1 3 1 Brock, 3b 5 0 -0

Moore, c-1b 3 0 1 0 Martinez, dh 5 1 1

Williams, ss 4 1 1 0 O’Sullivan, ss 2 2 1

Thompson, cf-rf 2 2 1 2

Totals 35 4 10 3 Totals 34 9 13 9

Allentown 011 100 100?4

Bangor 205 020 00x?9

E?Roche, Doakes; LOB?Allentown 7, Bangor 10; 2B?Diaz, Williams, LeBron, de la Cruz, Burke, Brock, Thompson; HR?Larkin (1); DP?Boker-Williams-Mooer, Brock-Doakes-Burke; S?Rosenthal, Doakes 2; SB?Doakes, O’Sullivan

Allentown IP H R ER BB SO

Ward, (L,0-1) 4 1/3 11 9 9 4 2

Gomez 1 2/3 1 0 0 2 2

Boker 2 1 0 0 1 2

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Scheuing (W,1-1) 6 1/3 9 4 3 2 4

Kalinowski 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 2

Woodards 1 1 0 0 0 2

T?2:57; ATT?871