Slumping Lumberjacks suffer 6th straight loss, fall to 10-14

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BANGOR – While one frustrating period of offensive malaise ended, another equally chafing one continued for the Bangor Lumberjacks this weekend.

Bangor snapped a 19-inning scoreless streak with five runs Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to keep New Haven County from cutting down the Lumberjacks for a third straight game or stop a six-game losing streak.

New Haven followed up a 14-0 drubbing of Bangor Saturday night with a 7-5 victory Sunday.

“I’m not happy about anything. We’ve lost six in a row and I’m not happy about Jack diddly-squat,” said Bangor manager Kash Beauchamp. “There’s a difference between losing and being beat. I can live with losing if a team is better than you are, but losing because of walking leadoff guys, giving up 0-2 walks, or not fielding your position bothers me.”

The Lumberjacks fall to 10-14 and remain fourth in the Northeast League’s Northern Division after committing seven errors against 15-9 South Division leader New Haven. Six of those miscues came in the last two games.

“I think there’s a lot of pressing going on,” said Bangor catcher Brad Hargreaves. “Guys are afraid to make mistakes and that’s affecting how they play the game. They’re playing not to lose instead of playing to have fun.”

On Sunday, the Lumberjacks ended a woeful string of offensive innings with two runs on one hit in the second. Mark Burke drew a two-out walk and then Jose Garcia tripled down the right-field line into the corner. With the count 1-1 on Paul Powell, Garcia broke down the line and stole home without a throw.

But before Bangor finally cracked the scoreboard, New Haven – as it has all series – scored first. Tyrone Pendergrass led off the first inning with a double and Gavin Fingleson reached on a bunt that was mishandled by starting pitcher Laine McKellar. Back-to-back singles by Jimmy Hurst and Hector Lebron scored one run each.

After scoring a run on two singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly in the second, New Haven made it 5-2 in the third on Adam Shorsher’s two-run homer to left that caromed off the roof of an adjacent house – some 380 feet away.

New Haven tacked on another run without the benefit of a hit in the fourth. Fingleson was hit by a pitch, moved to third on two groundouts, and scored on Powell’s fielding error at third.

Bangor got two runs back in the fifth on four straight one-out singles by Powell, Mike Grasso, Shin Uchino and Brad Hargreaves, but ran itself out of the inning after a flyout to center on an attempted delayed double steal. On an 0-2 count to cleanup hitter Donnie Ross, Hargreaves broke for second, prompting a throw from the catcher to second. Meanwhile, Uchino started home but was nailed on the throw home from second baseman Fingleson.

Bangor cut the deficit to one run in the sixth with a one-out solo homer by Derry Hammond to left center, but the Cutters got the run back, once again without a hit, in the eighth.

Jordy Alexander pitched six innings for the win.

“Taking three here really makes a big difference for us,” he said. “Winning that first one Friday night and [Tony] Harden throw the one-hitter really got us pumped and thinking we could sweep this.”

On Saturday night, a six-run ninth on just three hits capped a nightmarish night for Bangor as New Haven scored eight runs with two outs in what became a laugher.

Kevin Forbes and Ryan Kane led New Haven’s 10-hit attack with five between them. Forbes had an incredible night as he went 3-for-4 with seven RBIs and two runs on a grand slam in the ninth, a triple, a double and a walk. Kane had two doubles, two RBIs, and four runs.

New Haven put the game on ice in the eighth with five runs – all coming with two out – on just two hits. The key hits were Kane’s two-run double to left and Forbes’ two-run triple to the right field corner.

CUTTERS 14, LUMBERJACKS 0

(Saturday Night)

New Haven County (14-9) Bangor (10-13)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Pendergrass, cf 4 0 1 0 Uchino, ss 3 0

Johnston, cf 1 0 0 0 Hargreaves, c 4 0 0

Fingleson, 2b 4 1 0 0 Whitesides, cf 3 0

Dominguez, 2b 0 0 0 0 Burke, 1b 4 0

Hurst, dh 3 2 0 0 Hammond, lf 4 0 0

Lebron, 1b 3 2 1 0 Ross, dh 4 0 0

Rich, rf 3 2 1 2 Garcia, rf 2 0 0

Kane, 3b 5 4 2 2 Misawa, ph 0 0 0

Forbes, fl 4 2 3 7 Powell, 3b 4 0 0

Shorsher, c 4 0 2 1 Grasso, 2b 4 0 0

Mateo, ss 5 1 0 0

Totals 36 14 10 12 Totals 32 0 6 0

New Haven 020 000 156 ? 14

Bangor 000 000 000 ? 0

E?Uchino, Garcia 2; DP? New Haven 1; Bangor 1; LOB?New Haven 5; Bangor 9; 2B?Kane 2, Forbes, Shorsher; Whitesides, Hammond, Ross 2; 3B?Forbes; HR?Forbes (3); SB?Mateo; Garcia

New Haven IP H R ER BB SO

Bonesio (W,1-1) 6 1/3 4 0 0 3 3

Keinath 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 1

Mindingall 1 1 0 0 1 1

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Scheuing (L,4-1) 7 5 3 2 2 4

Boker 2/3 0 3 0 1 1

Huguet 0 2 2 0 1 0

Miller 1 1/3 3 6 5 3 1

HBP?Lebron by Boker, Fingleson by Miller; WP?Bonesio; Scheuing; T?3:05; ATT?500 (est.)

CUTTERS 7, LUMBERJACKS 5

(Sunday afternoon)

New Haven (15-9) Bangor (10-14)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Pendergrass, cf 4 1 1 0 Uchino, ss 5 1

Fingleson, 2b 4 2 1 0 Hargreaves, c 4 1

Hurst, dh 2 0 1 3 Whitesides, cf 4 0 0

Lebron, 1b 4 0 1 1 Ross, dh 4 0 0

Rich, rf 5 0 0 0 Hammond, lf 3 1 1

Kane, 3b 4 1 1 0 Burke, 1b 3 1 0

Forbes, lf 5 0 0 0 Garcia, rf 4 1 1

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

Mateo, ss 3 1 1 0 Grasso, 2b 4 1 0

Totals 35 7 7 6 Totals 35 5 10 4

New Haven 212 100 010 ? 7

Bangor 020 021 000 ? 4

E?Powell, McKeller, Huget; LOB?New Haven 10, Bangor 5; 2B?Pendergrass; 3B?Garcia; HR?Shorsher (2); Hammond (5); DP?New Haven 1, Bangor 1; SF?Hurst; SB?Uchino, Garcia

New Haven IP H R ER BB SO

Alexander (W, 3-1) 6 7 5 5 1 6

Brack 1 0 0 0 0 2

Keelin 1 1 0 0 1 1

Waroff (S, 5) 1 2 0 0 0 0

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

McKeller (L, 0-1) 6 7 6 4 3 4

Huguet 1 1/3 0 1 0 3 1

Boker 1 2/3 0 0 0 1 1

WP?Huguet; T?2:58; ATT?1,116