BANGOR – The streak is now at five and the Bangor Lumberjacks are still unbeaten at home.

For the third time in the last four games, the Lumberjacks rallied from behind to post a 5-4 victory, this time over the visiting Elmira Pioneers.

Bangor center fielder Jake Whitesides continued his torrid hitting pace with three singles and two RBIs – the last of which was the game-winner – in five at-bats.

The reigning Northeast League Player of the Week is batting .524 (11-for-21) through the team’s five home games, but to listen to the soft-spoken Mississippi native tell it, he has only a little bit to do with it.

“I’ve got Donnie [Ross] and [Mark] Burke generally behind me, so I’m going to get some good pitches to hit. It’s thanks to them, I think,” said the 22-year-old.

The 7-5 Lumberjacks tied the game in the bottom of the eighth after Ross led off with a walk, Derry Hammond followed with another, and Paul Powell’s bunt down the left side turned into an infield single to load the bases. Exit reliever Eric Sparks. Enter reliever Joe Winkelsas, who walked Brad Hargreaves on four pitches to tie things up.

After Winkelsas struck out Mike Grasso and then got a second out on a fielder’s choice, Whitesides laced a 2-0 fastball to shallow left center to score Powell.

The 1-10 Pioneers had hope in the ninth when No. 8 hitter Jobu Morita led off by lining deep to left center for a double, but he was thrown out on an 8-6-5 relay trying to stretch it into a triple. J.C. Huguet then retired the next two batters to preserve his own win in relief.

“When you win, those things kind of happen for you,” Whitesides said of his team’s rallies and the ninth-inning relay play. “When you lose, it kicks around in the corner and maybe that guy scores.”

Bangor’s versatility was apparent again as second baseman and No. 9 hitter Mike Grasso moved to shortstop and leadoff hitter to give Shin Uchino a rest, and responded with a single, two walks, two steals and two runs in his first three at-bats.

“Up and down the lineup, you can mix and match this lineup any way you want,” Grasso said. “We have a lot of interchangeable parts and some good team chemistry.”

Bangor scored a run in the first after Grasso led off with a walk, stole second and third, and went home on Jose Garcia’s groundout to short.

The Lumberjacks added a run in the fourth on Ross’ leadoff homer to right center.

Elmira took the lead in the fifth with three runs coming courtesy of a leadoff single by former University of Maine player Gabe Memmert, walks to Morita and Ryan Smith, an RBI groundout by Dytarious Edwards, a one-out single to right center by Cleatus Davidson, and a fielding error by left fielder Derry Hammond.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Bangor came back with a run in the bottom of the inning. Grasso led off with a single, managed to beat Elmira second baseman Edwards to second base on a potential double-play grounder, and scored from second on Whitesides’ single up the middle.

The Pioneers took a 4-3 lead in the eighth as Cleatus Davidson and Jeremy Dodson each singled to start things off. Two more walks plated Davidson.

LUMBERJACKS 5, PIONEERS 4

Elmira (1-10) Bangor (7-5)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Edwards, 2b 5 0 0 1 Grasso, ss-2b 3 2 0

Davidson, ss 4 1 2 1 Garcia, rf 4 0 1

Dodson, cf 4 0 2 0 Whitesides, cf 5 0 2

Checksfield, lf 3 0 0 0 Burke, 1b 2 0

Nerie, dh 3 0 1 1 Sienko, c 4 0 0

Bryan, cf 4 0 0 0 Uchino, ss 0 0 0

Memmert, 1b 4 1 1 0 Ross, dh 2 2 1

Morita, 3b 3 1 2 0 Hammond, lf 2 0 0

Smith, c 2 1 0 0 Powell, 3b 4 1 0

Hargreaves, 2b-c 2 0 1

Totals 32 4 8 3 Totals 28 5 6 5

Elmira 000 030 010 ? 4

Bangor 100 110 02x ? 5

E?Hammond; LOB?Elmira 6, Bangor 11; 2B?Morita; HR?Ross (3); DP?Bangor; SB?Dodson; Grasso 2

Elmira IP H R ER BB SO

Henderson 5 4 3 3 7 3

Cook 2 0 0 0 2 1

Sparks (L,0-2) 0* 1 2 2 2 0

Winkelsas 1 1 0 0 1 2

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Calmus 6 5 3 2 3 2

McKeller 1 2 1 1 1 2

Huguet (W,1-0) 2 1 0 0 1 1

PB?Sienko; T?3:22; ATT?783

*faced three batters in the eighth