BANGOR – A pain-free Jerry Long and a new-look Mark Burke made all the difference in a game where hits were hard to come by Thursday night.

Fortunately for Bangor, the Lumberjacks made theirs count as they scored four runs on two hits in the first 41/2 innings and made them stand up for a 4-0 win over the Aces behind a tag-team mound effort by Long and reliever Ben Fox.

The 15-9 Lumberjacks jumped ahead quickly. Jose Garcia worked a leadoff walk from starter Alex Pena and Pena then hit Brad Hargreaves with his second pitch. Newly bald Mark Burke got down in the count 1-2 only to drill a fastball 360 feet to right for a three-run home run.

Burke, looking like a cross between Mr. Clean and manager Kash Beauchamp, had his head shaved by Kevin Pincavitch after losing a bet with Bangor’s pitching coach.

“I couldn’t welch on the bet, but Pinky said ‘Don’t worry, I think some good things – home runs – are gonna come out of it’ and tonight he hung a changeup and I got inside of it,” Burke said while rubbing his freshly shorn head. “I bet him that we would win the first half. The winner got to shave the loser’s head.”

Long credited his comfort with the cool, clammy weather at Winkin Complex and his pitch location for his solid outing.

“I mixed all my pitches in pretty well tonight. My fastball felt like it was jumping in my hand pretty good,” said Long, who was pitching pain-free for the first time this season after battling shoulder pain due to inflammation. “Right now it feels good. We’ll see tomorrow how it is.”

Long (5-4) threw 64 of his 110 pitches – the exact pitch count number he was allotted by the coaches before he’d be relieved – while allowing just two hits and four walks in six innings. The righthander also notched five strikeouts.

“He was unbelievable tonight. That’s the best I’ve seen him throw all year, without a doubt,” said Hargreaves, the Lumberjacks’ catcher. “It’s the first time I’ve seen him in four or five starts where he’s not thinking about the pain.”

Long credited four extra days of rest and Celebrex for his comfort. Beauchamp credited a cortisone injection.

“It’s great to get him back,” Beauchamp said. “He wasn’t happy that he walked four guys, but you have to love the way he pitched tonight.”

Bangor added a run in the fifth.

LUMBERJACKS 4, ACES 0

Aces (9-15) Bangor (15-9)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Smith, cf 4 0 0 0 Garcia, rf 3 2 0

J. Schmidt, 3b 4 0 0 0 Hargreaves, c 1 0

Gerald, rf 3 0 0 0 Burke, 1b 4 1 3

Corbeil, lf 4 0 1 0 Hammond, lf 4 0 0

Valera, 1b 3 0 0 0 Kohno, cf 3 0 1

Davis, 2b 3 0 0 0 Bello, 2b 4 0 0

Torres, c 3 0 1 0 Kane, 3b 3 0 0

Correa, ss 3 0 1 0 Powell, ss 4 0 0

Neufield, dh 1 0 0 0 Uchino, dh 3 0 0

Quezada, dh 1 0 0 0

Totals 29 0 3 0 Totals 29 4 5 4

Aces 000 000 000 ? 0

Bangor 300 010 00x ? 4

E?Hargreaves, Powell; LOB?Aces 7; Lumberjacks 7; 2B?Torres; HR?Burke (12); DP?Lumberjacks 2; S?Hargreaves; SB?Hargreaves, Kohno.

Aces IP H R ER BB SO

Pena (L, 3-8) 7 4 4 4 4 6

Kirkland 1 1 0 0 0 0

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Long (W, 5-4) 6 2 0 0 4 5

Fox (S, 1) 3 1 0 0 1 2

HBP?Hargreaves by Pena; WP?Long; T?2:40; ATT?1,001