Eagles’ Pepper blanks Rams; Witches up next

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BANGOR – Clarice Pepper has been Messalonskee High’s starting pitcher for the last four seasons.

When she took the circle for Friday’s Eastern Maine Class A softball quarterfinal against Bangor, Pepper put her considerable experience to good use.

The senior righthander pitched superbly, mixing a good fastball, an exceptional changeup, a tantalizing rise ball and an occasional drop while pitching a two-hitter and leading the fifth-seeded Eagles to a 4-0 victory over the No. 4 Rams.

“I told my coach before that I’m not going to let anyone score on us,” said Pepper, who will play at Merrimack College (Mass.) next year. “I pretty much did what I do in every other game – throw all my pitches and mix them up well.”

Messalonskee of Oakland (14-3) visits No. 1 Brewer today at 5 p.m. in a rematch of a 2003 semifinal. Bangor finished the season 13-4.

Pepper’s well-rounded repertoire proved too much for a light-hitting Bangor squad. She struck out 10 and walked three.

“She’s a dominating pitcher,” said Bangor coach Nancy Snowdeal. “She definitely mixed up her pitches really well. I knew coming into this game it was going to be a challenge for our hitters.”

Bangor put runners in scoring position four times, but Pepper seemed to bear down in those situations.

In the third inning, Bangor’s Katy MacDonald reached on a throwing error, moved up on a sacrifice and took third on a wild pitch, but Pepper struck out the next two batters to get out of trouble.

“She did a really nice job, because she got deep in some counts and was able to battle back and get our hitters,” Snowdeal said.

In the fourth, Bangor’s Kelly White singled and advanced on a sacrifice bunt, but Pepper got the next two outs. She escaped similar jams in the sixth and seventh.

“She’s so much more poised as a senior,” said Messalonskee coach Deb Cormier. “Now she doesn’t just have the poise, the has a lot of different pitches, more ammunition.”

Megan Goodrow singled in the two-run sixth inning and lined an RBI double in the seventh to pace the Eagles. Seven Messalonskee hitters posted a hit.

Sophomore White spread out eight hits for Bangor, walking three without striking out a batter. She helped her own cause with a single, but the Rams were able to muster only one other hit, a Steph Chase single.

The Eagles broke a scoreless tie in the fifth. Lauren Suttie reached on a fielding miscue, then Cindy Bouchard beat out a single on a sacrifice bunt try.

Pinch hitter Chelsea Barker advanced the runners with a sacrifice and Lauren Blake’s hot single that ricocheted off White’s right arm and into the outfield gave Messalonskee the lead for good.

The Eagles tallied twice in the sixth when Goodrow singled with one out and Miriah Holmes walked. One out later, Bouchard drew a walk that led to Marilyn Perry’s two-run single to center field.

“We always do that,” Pepper said of the Eagles’ ability to build a lead. “It takes us a while, but we’ll do it in the end.”

EAGLES 4, RAMS 0

Messalonskee (15-3) Bangor (13-5)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Blake, 2b 4 0 1 1 Tweedie, rf 2 0 0

Corbett, cf 3 1 1 0 Heath, ss 3 0 0

Pepper, p 4 0 0 0 White, p 3 0 0

Goodrow, ss 4 1 2 1 Chase, lf 2 0 0

Holmes, 1b 3 1 0 0 Kowalski, 3b 2 0 0

Suttie, lf 3 0 1 0 Turner, 1b 3 0 0

Bouchard, 3b 2 1 1 0 Porter, c 2 0 0

Perry, rf 2 0 1 2 MacDonald, dp 3 0 0

Barker, ph 0 0 0 0 Wright, 2b 2 0 0

Currier, c 3 0 1 0

Biegon, pr 0 0 0 0

Totals 28 4 8 4 Totals 22 0 2 0

Messalonskee 000 012 1 ? 4

Bangor 000 000 0 ? 0

E?Heath; LOB?Messalonskee 7; Bangor 6; 2B?Goodrow; DP?Bangor; S?Barker; Wright, Chase; SB?Corbett

Messalonskee IP H R ER BB SO

Pepper (W) 7 2 0 0 3 10

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

White (L) 7 8 4 3 3 0

WP?Pepper 2; White; T?1:39; ATT?250 (est.)