BREWER – Ian Edwards had Brewer’s batters guessing throughout Friday night’s Class A baseball game at Heddericg Field – and even when the Witches guessed correctly, there was little they could do against the Bangor righthander.

Edwards pitched a masterful three-hitter with 10 strikeouts and three walks as the Rams improved their record to 10-0 this season and their winning streak to 21 games overall with a 7-0 victory.

“Ian mixed his pitches in and out very effectively,” said senior catcher Gordon Webb. “It’s hard to hit a pitcher when he’s throwing off-speed pitches inside and off-speed pitches outside and mixing his fastball inside and his fastball outside.”

Edwards (3-0) used his fastball to set up a slider that produced most of Brewer’s third strikes.

“I had a good fastball-slider combination that was working all night on the outside corner, just keeping people off-balance,” Edwards said. “Gordie called the game better than I could, he knew exactly what I wanted to throw and where I wanted to throw it, so it was a good combination all night.”

Brewer (5-4) advanced only one runner to third base and just two others to second as Edwards never faced more than four batters in an inning.

“He’s pitched a lot of games for us, but that might be the best game he’s pitched from the first inning right through to the end,” said Bangor coach Jeff Fahey. “I think it was more location than anything else. Obviously he could throw his curveball for a strike, which helped, but the location of some of those pitches was not unhittable, but it was tough for their kids to get the bat on it.”

Bangor’s second win of the spring over Brewer was not founded on pitching alone.

The defending state champions had 11 hits, including a solo home run by Edwards and a two-run shot by Webb. Alex Gallant added three singles, while Tom Crews and Ryan Larochelle each had two singles.

The Rams also played errorless defense, an effort led by sophomore second baseman Chad Kelley and junior shortstop John Cox.

“The outfield [defense] has always been consistent with us,” said Edwards, “and up the middle with John and Chad playing as well as they did tonight, they were phenomenal.”

Caleb Smith had two of Brewer’s hits, both singles. The Witches also got a complete-game pitching effort from junior righthander Greg Higgins (1-2), who struck out nine batters and walked no one.

Edwards gave himself a 1-0 lead with two out in the first, crushing a 1-1 fastball well beyond the left-field fence.

Tyler McDade singled with one out in the Bangor second and scored when Larochelle flared a two-out, opposite-field single to left-center.

Webb made it 4-0 in the third, lofting a two-run homer to left just after Gallant had hustled out a two-out infield single.

Crews delivered Bangor’s fifth two-out run of the game in the fifth, waiting on a 2-1 curve and driving it into center field to single home Edwards, who had reached on an error.

The Rams added two unearned runs in the seventh, as Gallant singled home Shane Walton on a play that eventually produced two runs when the ball was dropped during a tag play on Edwards at the plate.

RAMS 7, WITCHES 0

Bangor (10-0) Brewer (5-4)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Vanidestine, rf 4 0 0 0 Adams, 2b 2 0

Walton, 3b 4 1 1 0 White, lf 2 0 0

Edwards, p 4 3 1 1 Brown, 1b 3 0 0

Gallant, lf 4 1 3 1 Swett, rf 3 0 0

Webb, c 4 1 1 2 Thoms, c 3 0 0

Crews, cf 4 0 2 1 Smith, ss 3 0 0

McDade, 1b 4 1 1 0 Bissell, dh 2 0 0

Kelley, 2b 3 0 0 0 Higgins, p 0 0 0

R. Larochelle, dh 3 0 2 1 Helfen, ph 1 0

Cox, ss 0 0 0 0 McLaughlin, 3b 1 0 0

Bush, ph 1 0 0 0

Sasaki, cf 2 0 0 0

Totals 34 7 11 6 Totals 23 0 3 0

Bangor 112 010 2 – 7

Brewer 000 000 0 – 0

E-Smith 2, Thoms 2, White; LOB-Bangor 6, Brewer 5; HR-Edwards (2), Webb (3); SB-Smith

Bangor IP H R ER BB SO

Edwards (W, 3-0) 7 3 0 0 3 10

Brewer IP H R ER BB SO

Higgins (L, 1-2) 7 11 7 3 0 9

T-1:48; ATT- 275 (est.)