BANGOR – The Bangor Rams weren’t the most opportunistic baseball team during their regular-season meetings against Brewer – stranding 20 runners on base while splitting two games.

But when the Witches provided Bangor extra outs Monday night with a berth in the Eastern Maine Class A championship game on the line, the Rams took full advantage.

Top-ranked Bangor capitalized on six Brewer errors to score five unearned runs and combined that with the four-hit pitching of Kyle Leeman and some stellar infield defense by Ryan Jones and Shane Walton to earn a 6-2 victory at Mansfield Stadium.

The win – Bangor’s ninth straight – sends the 16-2 Rams to today’s 5:30 p.m. final at Augusta’s Morton Field against No. 2 Skowhegan in search of its first EM title since 2000. Bangor and 14-4 Skowhegan, a 4-3 winner over No. 7 Edward Little of Auburn on Monday, split two meetings this spring.

Bangor managed just six hits off Brewer lefty Jim Nicknair, but packaged three with three Brewer throwing errors to take a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

“Our middle of the lineup put the ball in play, which is what we do, and they have a young team and the pressure may have gotten to them a little bit,” said Bangor coach Jeff Fahey.

Walton contributed an RBI single to the rally, while Jones followed an infield hit by Tyson Barron with a sacrifice fly to plate the final run of the inning.

“We made some mistakes,” said Brewer coach David Morris, “and I think Bangor’s the best team in the state for when you make mistakes, they capitalize.”

Fifth-ranked Brewer (14-5) reached Leeman for its runs in the top of the third, but an alert play by Walton at third base prevented an even greater comeback.

Caleb Smith led off by reaching on Bangor’s lone error, then went to third when Ricky Adams doubled to right-center. Mike Kotredes grounded to Walton, who initially mishandled the ball but picked it up quickly enough to throw out Smith after he made a late break for home.

Corey Cushing and Evan Economy followed with two-out RBI singles, but the rally only drew Brewer within 4-2.

From there it was left to Leeman and the Bangor defense to finish the job.

Leeman didn’t allow a hit over the final four innings, and finished with eight strikeouts, four walks, a hit batsman and no earned runs allowed.

“To tell you the truth, right from the bullpen at the beginning of the game I didn’t think I had it with me,” he said. “My pitches weren’t really there, so I knew I was just going to have to battle.”

It was a battle soon joined by Jones, the Rams’ senior second baseman.

First he reacted quickly to a bad-hop grounder by Shun Sasaki and made a diving stop of a grounder by Smith on consecutive plays in the fourth. Then he teamed with Walton to turn a 5-4-3 double play in the fifth.

“I’m not a big base-hitting guy,” said Jones, “but I try to get some key hits and definitely play my role on defense because that’s what my teammates rely on me for.”

Ian Edwards reached on a double error and scored on a third Brewer error in the bottom of the fourth to extend Bangor’s lead to 5-2. The Rams made it 6-2 an inning later as Ben Estabrook hit a one-out single and scored when Gordon Webb doubled to left-center.

Nicknair threw just 74 pitches over six innings, with five strikeouts and no walks.

“Coming into the game the game, we knew Jimmy was going to pitch the way we did,” said Morris, “and if we played defense behind him, we’d probably still be playing now.”

RAMS 6, WITCHES 2

Brewer (14-5) Bangor (16-2)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Smith, lf 4 0 0 0 Vanidestine, rf 3 0 0

Adams, ss 2 1 1 0 Estabrook, dh 3 1 0

Kotredes, c 4 1 0 0 Leeman, p 0 0 0

Swett, 1b 1 0 0 0 Webb, c 3 0 1 1

Cushing, 2b 3 0 1 1 Crews, pr 0 0 0

Hutchins, pr 0 0 0 0 Hackett, 1b 3 0 0

Economy, cf 3 0 2 1 Gallant, lf 3 1 0

Peasley, 3b 3 0 0 0 Edwards, ss 3 2 0

Gray, dh 2 0 0 0 Walton, 3b 3 1 1

Nicknair, p-pr 0 0 0 0 Barron, cf 3 0

Sasaki, rf 2 0 0 0 Jones, 2b 1 0 1

McLaughlin, ph 1 0 0 0

Totals 25 2 4 2 Totals 25 6 6 3

Brewer 002 000 0- 2

Bangor 040 110 x- 6

E-Swett 2, Peasley 2, Nicknair, Cushing; Hackett; LOB-Brewer 7, Bangor 2; 2B-Adams, Economy; Webb; DP-Walton to Jones to Hackett; SF-Jones; SB-Adams; Barron

Brewer IP H R ER BB SO

Nicknair (L, 5-1) 6 5 6 1 0 5

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Leeman (W, 6-0) 7 4 2 0 4 8

HBP-Adams (by Leeman); PB-Kotredes; T-1:42; ATT-820 (est.)