Rams, ‘Cats split PI pitching staff gets a workout

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BANGOR – Rain followed by sun, then more rain and more sun, along with winds gusting to nearly 50 miles per hour. It’s not exactly spring training in Arizona, but certainly not uncommon for the early days of the Maine high school baseball campaign.

Bangor and Presque Isle split a season-opening doubleheader amid those conditions at Mansfield Stadium on Saturday, with Bangor winning the opener 10-0 in five innings behind Josh Young’s one-hit pitching and Presque Isle rebounding for a 5-4 victory in the second game.

And nearly as interesting as the weather were some of the idiosyncrasies of the Presque Isle pitching line. Junior right-hander Kyle Gagnon started the opener and took the loss, then came on in relief in the second game and earned the win. Junior lefty Chad Lavway started the second game, left after two innings but returned to earn a save in the same game he started.

“We hadn’t been hitting, and when we got behind in the first game I was going to pull Kyle, because he missed the preseason and we’re sort of building him back,” said Presque Isle coach Tim Olore, now in Class B after qualifying for the Eastern A playoffs last spring. “I knew I could save him for the next game and give Chad a backup system. So we pulled him, and once the first game got out of reach, it was the right decision, and it helped us win the second game.”

Presque Isle spotted Bangor a 2-1 lead in the second game, then scored four runs in the top of the fourth off Bangor starter Anthony DeRosa.

Derrek Belanger drew a one-out walk and Tim Lyford singled to center. Gagnon doubled home Belanger, and Lyford scored the go-ahead run on a groundout by Adam Swanson. Gagnon made it 4-2 when he scored on an error on Lavway’s grounder, and back-to-back singles by Tim Morrison and Chris Parsons plated Lavway to make it 5-2.

Bangor scored once in the fifth as Mike Prentiss singled and later came home on a sacrifice fly by P.J. Dowe. The Rams added their final run in the seventh on back-to-back walks to Eric Anderson and Jason Eremita and a single by Jordan Heath.

But clinging to that one-run lead and with Bangor runners on second and third, Lavway reached back to strike out Young and retire Nate Hall on a game-ending groundout.

“It was tough on Chad, because his breaking pitches were fighting the wind,” said Olore. “But with the last batter, the wind kind of died down, so we went back to it and got the kid off balance.”

For Bangor, the second game was an opportunity lost, as the Rams stranded 12 baserunners and couldn’t capitalize on nine walks issued by Gagnon and Lavway.

“[Presque Isle] got good pitching today and we just didn’t hit the ball in the second game,” said Bangor coach Jeff Fahey. “Doubleheaders in high school are tough, especially this time of year, but that’s no excuse. They just outplayed us the second game.”

Young took a no-hitter into the top of the fifth of the opener until Belanger flared an opposite-field, pinch-hit single to right. The senior righthander struck out six and walked one while throwing 54 pitches in five innings.

“The elements were a little weird, but overall it was pretty good,” said Young. “It was a little difficult to grip the ball, but you could get by blowing on your hand. I knew I had the defense behind me, I always do, and if they hit it, they hit it, and my defense would make the plays.”

Young also led Bangor’s nine-hit attack with a double, two singles, and two runs scored. Young’s double came with two outs and no one on in the second, and he scored one pitch later when Dowe blasted a triple to center to give the Rams a 1-0 lead.

Bangor added two runs in the third and six runs in the fourth for a 9-0 advantage. Heath’s two-run single and an RBI single by Nick Larochelle highlighted the fourth-inning rally.

RAMS 10, WILDCATS 0

(First Game, 5 innings)

Presque Isle Bangor

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Swanson, lf 2 0 0 0 Hall, lf 3 1 1

Lavway, cf-rf 2 0 0 0 N.Larochelle, 2b 1

Morrison, 1b 1 0 0 0 Prentiss, cf 3 1 0

Cole, dh 2 0 0 0 Hackett, 3b 3 0 0

King, ss 0 0 0 0 Anderson, dh 3 1 0

Parsons, c 2 0 0 0 DeRosa, rf 0 0 0

Gagnon, p-cf 1 0 0 0 Young, p 3 2 0

Belanger, cf 1 0 1 0 Dowe, c 2 1 1 1

Mathers, 3b 2 0 0 0 Heath, ss 3 2 2

Putnam, 3b 0 0 0 0 M.Larochelle, 1b 2 1

Lyford, 2b 2 0 0 0

Michaud, rf-p 2 0 0 0

Totals 17 0 1 0 Totals 24 10 9 6

Presque Isle 000 00 ? 0

Bangor 012 61 ? 10

E?King 2, Michaud, Mathers, Morrison; DeRosa; LOB?Presque Isle 3, Bangor 5; 2B?Young, M. Larochelle; 3B?Dowe

Presque Isle IP H R ER BB SO

Gagnon (L, 0-1) 3 3 3 1 1 1

Michaud 1 6 7 4 2 1

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Young (W, 1-0) 5 1 0 0 1 6

T? 1:10; ATT? 40

WILDCATS 5, RAMS 4

(Second Game)

Presque Isle (1-1) Bangor (1-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Swanson, lf 4 0 1 1 Hall, lf 5 1 1

Lavway, p-rf 3 2 0 0 N.Larochelle, 2b 2 0

Morrison, dh 2 0 1 0 Prentiss, cf 3 1 1

King, ss 0 0 0 0 Hackett, 3b 4 0 0

Parsons, c 4 0 2 2 Gallant, pr 0 0 0

Cole, 1b 4 0 0 0 Dowe, c 2 0 0 1

Putnam, 3b 2 0 0 0 DeRosa, p 2 1 0

Mathers, 3b 1 0 0 0 Anderson, p 0 0 0

Belanger, cf 3 1 0 0 Ingraham, pr 0 1 0

Lyford, 2b 3 1 1 0 Murphy, rf 2 0 0

Dickinson, rf 1 0 0 0 Eremita, rf 1 0

Gagnon, p 2 1 1 1 Heath, ss 4 0 1

Michaud, rf 0 0 0 0 M.Larochelle, 1b 1 0

Young, 1b 1 0 0 0

Totals 29 5 6 4 Totals 27 4 7 4

Presque Isle 100 400 0 ? 5

Bangor 110 010 1 ? 4

E?King; Hackett, N. Larochelle; LOB?Presque Isle 8, Bangor 12; 2B?Parsons, Gagnon; Dowe; SB?Lavway, Swanson; Prentiss, Eremita

Presque Isle IP H R ER BB SO

Lavway 2 4 2 2 2 3

Gagnon (W, 1-1) 3 2 1 0 2 2

Lavway (S, 1) 2 1 1 1 5 2

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

DeRosa (L, 0-1) 4 6 5 3 4 4

Anderson 3 0 0 0 2 3

BK? Lavway; T? 2:25; ATT? 45