BANGOR – The Bangor baseball team earned its fourth straight victory Friday night, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit to defeat Hampden Academy 10-5 in a Class A matchup at Mansfield Stadium.

But the key moment in the contest came before the Rams ever crossed the plate.

Hampden (7-6) had a 1-0 lead and was threatening for more in the top of the third with two runners aboard and no one out.

Up came the Broncos’ top hitter, Shawn Smith, and he didn’t disappoint – lining a shot toward the opposite field, one seemingly destined to produce extra bases.

But Bangor right fielder Ryan Larochelle put on a full charge toward the line, then stretched out as much as he could to make a diving catch and then throw to first base to complete a double play.

The Broncos did score one run in the inning on an infield error, but center fielder Kyle Vanidestine then delivered a diving catch of his own on a shot to right-center by Patrick Stephens to end the rally and cool Hampden’s momentum.

Bangor (11-2) immediately took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third off Hampden lefthander Brennan Perry, and the Rams took control with two runs in the fourth and a five-run fifth.

“The catch that Ryan made at the time he made it was huge, especially with their three hitter up and runners on,” said Bangor coach Jeff Fahey. “I wasn’t sure he was going to get to it. He didn’t have much glove left, and it was slicing toward the line.

“The one Kyle made I thought was a great catch but he had more time to decide if he was going to back off. Ryan didn’t have that choice, he just had to go after it.”

Vanidestine, usually a catalyst in the leadoff spot of Bangor’s batting order, instead played the role of run producer in the absence of offensive stalwart Ian Edwards, sidelined as a precautionary measure due to a slight hamstring injury.

The senior singled home one run in the third inning, then hit a two-run single up the middle in the fourth as Bangor created some breathing room for junior righthander Jordan Clarke.

“Coach told us we could still win without Ian,” said Vanidestine. “Ian definitely helps, but other people stepped up. Usually I score a lot of runs, but I just happened to be in a position Ian’s in most of the time and got a couple of hits and drove in some runs.”

Larochelle and John Cox also singled home runs in the third, while Chad Kelley highlighted Bangor’s fifth-inning rally with a two-run single to left.

Clarke improved his record to 3-1 by scattering seven hits with three walks and a strikeout before tiring in the sixth, when he allowed three runs.

Perry doubled home a run and scored on a single by Ryan Lindemann to highlight that rally before Bangor sophomore Kyle Savage came on to get the final out and follow that up with a scoreless seventh.

Hampden, coming off a big win over Brewer earlier in the week, took a 1-0 lead in the second when Josh Tardiff singled and later scored on Caleb Kirk’s single to right.

Perry, meanwhile, faced just seven Bangor batters in the first two innings before the Rams broke loose offensively during their second time around the batting order.

“For me and a lot of the other guys we weren’t really being patient and swinging at balls the first time around,” said Vanidestine. “But the second time around we were a little more patient, got the pitches we knew we could hit and drove in some runs.”

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045

RAMS 10, BRONCOS 5

Hampden Acad. (7-6) Bangor (11-2)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Turner, ss 3 1 1 0 Vanidestine, cf 4 1 3

McCluskey, 2b 3 0 1 0 Larochelle, rf 4 1

Smith, cf 4 0 0 0 Savage, dh-p 4 1 0

Tardiff, 1b 4 1 1 0 Gray, 1b 0 0 0

Stephens, c 3 1 1 0 Cox, ss 3 0 1 1

Kirk, dh 4 0 1 1 Burns, pr 0 1 0

Moore, rf-p 0 0 0 0 Walton, 3b 3 1 0

Dolan, rf 0 0 0 0 Clarke, p 2 1 0

Miller, 3b 3 1 2 0 Templeton, 1b 1 0 0

Perry, p-rf 2 1 1 1 McDade, c 1 2 1

Lindemann, lf 3 0 1 1 Warren, lf 1 1

Kelley, 2b 3 1 2 2

Totals 29 5 9 3 Totals 26 10 9 9

Hampden Acad. 011 003 0 – 5

Bangor 003 250 x – 10

E-Miller; Cox; LOB-Hampden 7, Bangor 5; 2B-Perry; Savage, Walton, Kelley; DP-Bangor 2; S-Perry; SB-Turner

Hampden Acad. IP H R ER BB SO

Perry (L, 3-2) 4 7 10 9 6 2

Moore 2 2 0 0 1 2

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Clarke (W, 3-1) 5 2/3 7 5 4 3 1

Savage 1 1/3 2 0 0 0 0

WP-Perry; Clarke 2; PB-Stephens; T-1:55; ATT-110 (est.)