DeRosa sparks Bangor Pitcher strikes out 12 Witches in Rams’ win

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BREWER – As Anthony DeRosa stared in at home plate from the pitcher’s mound Saturday, he wasn’t thinking about the actual width of the strike zone, but how wide it could be.

No, the plate didn’t magically change in size, but the Bangor righthander used a sweeping curveball to create the illusion of a wider zone, one he used to lift the Rams to a 5-1 victory over Brewer at Heddericg Field.

DeRosa limited the Witches to three hits and one unearned run, freezing Brewer’s right-handed-hitting lineup with a breaking pitch he started about a foot inside only to curve it across the corner of the plate.

With some of Brewer’s batters unable to stay firmly in the batter’s box while waiting for the inevitable curve, DeRosa was in charge throughout his 122-pitch performance.

“[The strike zone] started off kind of small and as the game got going, it gradually got bigger,” said DeRosa, who struck out 12 and walked two. “I’ve been throwing the curve a lot and it’s been working for me.”

Bangor (4-1) managed only seven hits off Brewer right-hander Andrew Patterson, but scored two unearned runs in the top of the first and added three runs on four hits in the fourth.

DeRosa had a double and a single, while Mike Prentiss added a triple for the Rams.

“We swung the bats very well,” said Bangor coach Jeff Fahey. “We had some clutch hits, and even the outs we made were hit right on the screws, so you can’t complain about that.”

Nate Hall reached on an infield error to open the game for Bangor. Jordan Heath followed with a walk, and the Rams then parlayed a wild pitch, Brian Hackett’s sacrifice fly, and a two-out RBI single by P.J. Dowe into an instant 2-0 lead.

“You make a mistake against a team like Bangor and they capitalize,” said Brewer coach Dave Morris, whose Witches fell to 4-1. “Getting those first two runs right off the bat definitely put them in a position to feel a little more comfortable at the plate and be a little more aggressive than maybe normal.”

It also put DeRosa in cruise control. He struck out the first five batters he faced and had seven strikeouts while retiring the first 11 Brewer hitters.

Josh Young drilled a one-out double to the fence in center field in the Bangor fourth, and pinch runner Ryan Toomey scored as DeRosa singled to left. DeRosa stole second, then scored as Jon Ingraham singled to right.

One out later, Hall singled home Ingraham to make it 5-0.

DeRosa’s perfect game ended on an error when Young failed to touch the first base after fielding Patterson’s one-out grounder in the bottom of the fourth, and Kevin McAvoy ended the shutout bid with an RBI double to right-center.

But McAvoy was cut down by Heath while trying to advance to third base on Kevin Kotredes’ grounder to shortstop, and Brewer’s best threat died on an inning-ending strikeout.

DeRosa allowed just one more hit, a one-out double to McAvoy in the sixth, but he induced Kotredes and Miller to ground out to Heath to strand McAvoy at second base.

“[DeRosa] had a little snap to his fastball, and starting his curve on the inside corner and bringing it into the plate made some people think,” said Morris. “He did a good of keeping us off-balance, and at the same time he let his defense do the work. He pitched a great game.”

RAMS 5, WITCHES 1

(Saturday Afternoon)

Bangor (4-1) Brewer (4-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Hall, lf 4 1 1 1 J.T. Davis, ss 4 0 0

Heath, ss 2 1 0 0 Patterson, p-1b 3 1 0

b-Anderson 1 0 0 0 McAvoy, 3b 3 0 1

Prentiss, cf 3 0 1 0 Kotredes, 2b 3 0 0

c-Murphy 1 0 0 0 Miller, rf 3 0 0

Hackett, 3b 2 0 0 1 Grimes, cf 3 0 0

Dowe, c 3 0 1 1 Otis, dh 2 0 0

Young, 1b 3 0 1 0 Hardy, lf 0 0 0

a-Toomey 0 1 0 0 Goodin, 1b 2 0 0

M. Larochelle, 1b 0 0 0 0 Economy, p 1 0

DeRosa, p 3 1 2 1 Peasley, c 2 0 0

Ingraham, rf 3 1 1 1

N. Larochelle, 2b 3 0 0 0

Totals 28 5 7 5 Totals 26 1 3 1

a-ran for Young in 4th; b-lined out for Heath in 7th; c-struck out for Prentiss in 7th

Bangor 200 300 0 ? 5

Brewer 000 100 0 ? 1

E?Young, N. Larochelle; Goodin, Patterson; LOB? Bangor 4, Brewer 6; 2B?Young, DeRosa; McAvoy 2; 3B?Prentiss; SF?Hackett; SB?Heath, Dowe, DeRosa; Miller

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

DeRosa (W, 1-1) 7 3 1 0 2 12

Brewer IP H R ER BB SO

Patterson (L, 1-1) 5 1/3 7 5 3 1 6

Economy 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 2

WP?Patterson; T?1:56; ATT?100