BANGOR – Most of Saturday afternoon wasn’t all that pleasant a baseball experience for the Bangor Christian Patriots.

Weather conditions grew steadily threatening, while the team’s fortunes weren’t faring much better.

But after falling to Katahdin of Stacyville 11-6 in the opener of their Class D doubleheader and trailing the Cougars throughout the second game, Bangor Christian rallied for a 6-5 victory and a satisfying split.

“The boys are encouraged now,” said Bangor Christian coach Ed Potter. “Splitting this was what we had hoped for. Granted both games would have been great, but this is what we hoped for, so we’re very thankful for this.”

Bangor Christian (3-2) trailed 4-0 through two innings of the second game, but righthander Chris Potter kept the Patriots close with off-speed pitches and good location – he walked just one in six innings.

“I was just trying to keep myself calm and throw strikes,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter how fast, I just put it in there and let the [defense] do what it’s supposed to do.”

Jeremy Leong’s RBI infield hit highlighted a two-run rally in the top of the fourth – Katahdin was the home team for this game – and a two-run single to right by Potter tied the game in the sixth.

Katahdin (2-1) took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single down the left-field line by Kaleb Gallagher.

Bangor Christian won it in the seventh. Levi Washburn was hit by a pitch and Jared Theriault followed with a one-out single to left. That brought up first baseman Adrian Durkee, who hit a 2-2 pitch into left field for an RBI single to score Washburn with the go-ahead run. Theriault went to third on the play, and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Phil Dougherty.

Dougherty then picked up the save with an inning of scoreless relief.

“That will just make us stronger,” said Katahdin coach Marty McCarthy of the loss. “They were getting a little lacksidasical about the whole thing, and it will come back to help us.”

Katahdin pitchers Evan McCarthy and Josh Guiggey combined for 14 strikeouts. McCarthy, a sophomore right hander, was dominant early in the game, striking out the first four batters he faced and amassing 12 strikeouts before tiring in the sixth inning.

Senior center fielder Casey Savage led the Cougars’ offense with three singles, including a two-run, two-out, ground single to right to highlight a three-run Katahdin rally in the bottom of the second. McCarthy added an RBI single in the first.

In the first game, Savage singled twice and scored three runs while McCarthy belted a two-run home run in support of winning pitcher Jared Anderson, who allowed two runs while striking out eight and walking no one in 3 2/3 innings of relief.

“The big thing we emphasize is first-pitch strikes,” said Evan McCarthy, who caught in the opener, “and he was throwing first-pitch strikes and the innings went a lot quicker than they did before.”

Katahdin reached Bangor Christian righthander Jared Theriault for two unearned runs in the top of the first, then pushed its lead to 6-0 in the third, a four-run rally capped by McCarthy’s long home run to left.

“It was a 0-1 count and I saw a fastball right down the middle and went for it, and it went,” McCarthy said.

Bangor Christian countered with two unearned runs in the bottom of the third and added two more runs in the fourth. Leong drew a leadoff walk, went to third on a single by Brett Bradford and scored on a wild pitch. Bradford scored on an infield hit to the shortstop hole by Jon Johnson to make it 6-4.

But Katahdin answered with a game-clinching five-run rally in the top of the fifth. Anderson and Andrew Hawkins had RBI singles, while Billy Duffy contributed a sacrifice fly.

COUGARS 11, PATRIOTS 6

(Saturday’s First Game)

Katahdin Bangor Christian

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Guiggey, 2b-p 5 1 0 0 Johnson, cf 4 1

Savage, cf 3 3 2 1 Theriault, p-1b 3 0 0

Kay, 1b-2b 4 2 2 0 Dougherty, 3b-ss 3 0

Zabierek, p-1b 3 1 1 0 Potter, ss-p 3 0

McGraw, ss 2 1 0 0 Durkee, 1b-p 2 0 1

McCarthy, c 3 1 1 2 Washburn, pr 0 1 0

Curtis, pr 0 1 0 0 Smith, lf 4 0 1

J. Anderson, rf-p 4 1 1 1 Leong, c-2b-p 2 0

T. Anderson, lf 2 0 0 0 Wilcox, rf 3 0

Duffy, lf 1 0 0 1 Whitaker, ph 1 0 0

Qualey, dh 2 0 0 0 Bradford, 2b-3b 4 1 0

Gallagher, 3b 0 0 0 0

Hawkins, 3b 1 0 1 1

Totals 30 11 8 6 Totals 29 6 9 3

Katahdin 204 050 0 – 11

Bangor Christian 002 200 2 – 6

E-Potter 2, Johnson, Leong, Dougherty; McGraw, Kay, Gallagher; LOB-Katahdin 5, Bangor Christian 9; 2B-Smith; HR-McCarthy; SF-Duffy, Durkee; SB-Guiggey, Savage, Kay, McGraw, Anderson; Dougherty, Leong

Katahdin IP H R ER BB SO

Zabierek 2 2/3 2 4 2 4 5

Guiggey 2/3 0 0 0 0 0

J. Anderson (W,1-0) 3 2/3 7 2 2 0 8

Home IP H R ER BB SO

Theriault (L,1-1) 4 5 8 6 2 6

Leong 0 0 1 1 2 0

Durkee 3 3 2 2 1 1

Theriualt pitched to 2 batters in 5th

Leong pitched to 2 batters in 5th

HBP-Hawkins by Durkee; Theriault by Zabierek; WP-Zabierek, Guiggey, J. Anderson, Theriault 2, Durkee 2; PB-Potter; T-2:07

PATRIOTS 6, COUGARS 5

(Saturday’s Second Game)

Bangor Christian (3-2) Katahdin (2-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Johnson, cf 4 0 1 0 Guiggey, c-p 4 0 -0

Theriault, cf 4 0 1 0 Savage, cf 4 2

Durkee, 1b 3 0 1 1 Kay, ss 4 1 0 0

Whitaker, pr 0 1 0 0 McCarthy, p-c 3 0 1

Durkee, 1b 3 0 1 1 J. Anderson, rf 4 0 0

Whitaker, pr 0 1 0 0 McGraw, 2b 2 1 0

Dougherty, c-p 3 2 1 1 T. Anderson, lf 0 0

Potter, p-c 4 0 1 2 Zabierek, 1b 3 0 0

Leong, 3b 2 0 1 1 Hawkins, 3b 1 1 0

Smith, lf 2 0 0 0 Gallagher, 3b 2 0 1

Bradford, 2b 3 0 0 0 Curtis, pr 0 0 0

Washburn, rf 2 1 0 0 Duffy, 1f-2b 3 1 0

Totals 26 6 6 5 Totals 30 5 8 4

Bangor Christian 000 202 2 – 6

Katahdin 130 001 5 – 5

E-Potter, Durkee, Theriault, Leong; Zabierek; LOB-Bangor Christian 5, Katahdin 8; DP-Bangor Christian 1, Katahdin 1; S-; SF-Dougherty; SB-Johnson, Theriault; Savage, T. Anderson, Hawkins, Dyff

Bangor Christian IP H R ER BB SO

Potter (W,2-0) 6 8 5 1 1 3

Dougherty (S,1) 1 0 0 0 1 0

Katahdin IP H R ER BB SO

McCarthy 5 4 4 3 5 12

Guiggey (L,0-1) 2 2 2 2 1 2

HBP-Washburn by Guiggey; WP-McCarthy 5, Guiggey; PB-Guiggey; T-1:48; ATT-100 (est.)