Andrews fires 4-hitter, Jacks sweep Aces

loading...

BANGOR – Matt Scheuing didn’t have his good stuff and Clayton Andrews didn’t have his usual stuff, but both turned in standout efforts on the mound to lead the Bangor Lumberjacks to a doubleheader sweep of the Aces Sunday.

Scheuing allowed three hits and two earned runs in six innings while Andrews pitched a four-hitter for his second complete game this season as Bangor topped the Aces 7-4 and 1-0 on a bright and balmy afternoon at Winkin Complex.

With an off day on Monday, the Lumberjacks are now 22-11 as they head into a three-game home showdown against first place Quebec (25-8). The Aces dip to 10-23.

“I’d like to roll Quebec’s butt up because we don’t like them,” said Bangor manager Kash Beauchamp. “We need to take care of it on the field here.”

In the second game, Bangor loaded the bases the first two innings, but didn’t score until the fourth. Ironically, the run didn’t come home in the person of Brian Baker, who led off with a triple. Baker was thrown out at home on a groundout to short one batter later, but Paul Powell, who reached on the fielder’s choice grounder, moved to second on a throwing error and scored on Rolando Bello’s single to right center.

Andrews made the thin lead stand up by using his changeup much more frequently and effectively than usual.

“I actually felt too good after the first inning. Maybe I should pitch on three days’ rest more often,” said Andrews, who struggled in his last two starts. “My changeup hasn’t worked that well in awhile and I threw it way more than normal.”

Andrews (7-3) struck out nine batters and walked two for the shutout, his first this year. He threw 66 of 98 pitches for strikes and issued both walks in the first, when he left the bases loaded. After starting the seventh with three balls, 10 of his next 12 pitches were strikes.

“He looked confident out there. Last time, he looked like he was trying to figure out what to do. Today he knew exactly what he was doing,” said pitching coach Kevin Pincavitch.

In the first game, Bangor took an early lead and used a big inning to make it stand up while Scheuing, despite not having his best stuff, kept the Aces’ bats at bay.

“I actually did struggle today. I couldn’t find a comfort level and never got that relaxed feeling,” said Scheuing (10-3). “My two-seamer (fastball) had a lot of movement on it today, which was good, but it was also difficult to control as well.”

Bello led off the game with a triple and scored on Brad Hargreaves’ groundout to short.

The Lumberjacks broke it open with six runs in the fourth. Mark Burke and Jose Garcia singled to start things off. A walk to Josh Tranum loaded the bases and Brian Baker, who struck out in 10 of his previous 12 at-bats, caught a 2-1 changeup just right from Max Newill and laced it 360 feet to left center for a grand slam.

“I was just trying to slap the ball around. I was looking fastball, but I timed it right,” said Baker. “I’ve had a couple quirks hitting-wise I’ve needed to straighten out and I still have a long way to go.”

Powell followed up with a single and scored on Shin Uchino’s double to deep center. Uchino moved to third on a flyout and then scored on Kazuhiro Kohno’s single through the left infield gap.

The 10-23 Aces got on the board in the fourth with Chad Gambill’s two-run homer to right center – the first hit off Scheuing. Dalphie Correa led off the fifth with a single, went to third on a pickoff throw from Brad Hargreaves that sailed high over first, and scored on Andy Neufeld’s double to left.

The Aces’ last run came in the seventh, when Jason Torres hit a one-out single, Neufeld drew a two-out walk, and Torres scored on Coby Smith’s single to left, which sent reliever Ben Fox to the showers and brought in Lance Calmus.

Calmus earned his ninth save of the season by striking out Gambill on six pitches with runners at the corners.

“The last time we faced [Andrews], we hit him all over the park, but we’re not swinging the bats well right now,” said Aces manager Bob Flori. “They both kept the ball around the plate and kept the ball in play.”

GAME NOTES – The Lumberjacks completed a preseason trade that sent outfielder Schuyler Doakes to the Aces by acquiring infielder Mike Davis – the “player to be named later” – between Sunday’s games. Davis walked across the diamond, changed uniforms, and singled in his first at-bat. He was 1-for-3 on the day while starting at third base.

LUMBERJACKS 1, ACES 0

(Sunday’s Second Game)

Bangor (22-11) Aces (10-23)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Bello, 2b 4 0 2 1 Neufield, 2b 3 0 0

Hargreaves, c 4 0 0 0 Smith, cf 2 0

Kohno, cf 4 0 2 0 Gambill, dh 3 0 0

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

Burke, 1b 2 0 1 0 Gerald, rf 2 0 0

Garcia, dh 2 0 0 0 J. Schmidt, lf 3 0 0

Baker, rf 3 0 1 0 Correa, ss 3 0 0

Powell, ss 3 1 1 0 Torres, c 3 0 0

Davis, 3b 3 0 1 0 Quezada, 3b 2 0 0

Totals 28 1 9 1 Totals 23 0 3 0

Bangor 000 100 0 ? 1

Aces 000 000 0 ? 0

E?Quezada; LOB?Bangor 8, Aces 5; 3B?Baker; DP?Aces 2; S?Smith; SB?Burke

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Andrews (W, 8-5) 7 3 0 0 2 9

Aces IP H R ER BB SO

Kuklis (L, 0-2) 5 2/3 9 1 0 2 3

Kirkland 1 0 0 0 0 1

Figueroa 1/3 0 0 0 0 0

T?2:05; ATT?1,267

LUMBERJACKS 7, ACES 4

(Sunday’s First Game)

Bangor (21-11) Aces (10-22)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Bello, 2b 4 1 2 0 Neufield, 2b 3 0 0

Hargreaves, c 4 0 0 1 Smith, cf 3 1

Kohno, cf 4 0 1 1 Gambill, dh 4 1 2

Burke, rf 4 1 2 0 Valera, 1b 2 0 0

Garcia, dh 3 1 1 0 Gerald, rf 3 0 0

Tranum, 1b 1 1 1 0 J. Schmidt, lf 3 0 0

Baker, lf 4 1 1 4 Correa, ss 3 1 0

Powell, ss 3 1 1 0 Torres, c 3 1 1

Uchino, 3b 2 1 1 1 Quezada, 3b 3 0 0

Totals 29 7 10 7 Totals 27 4 5 4

Bangor 100 600 0 ? 7

Aces 000 210 1 ? 4

E?Hargreaves, Powell; Torres; LOB?Bangor 6, Aces 5; 2B?Uchino; Neufield; 3B?Bello; HR?Baker (1); Gambill (5); DP?Aces 1; SB?Garcia

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Scheuing (W, 10-3) 6 3 3 3 2 4

Fox 2/3 2 1 1 1 0

Calmus (S, 9) 1/3 0 0 0 0 1

Aces IP H R ER BB SO

Newill (L, 3-6) 3 6 7 7 2 2

Emmerthal 3 2 0 0 1 2

Neitz 1 2 0 0 0 1

WP?Scheuing 2; T?2:20