BANGOR – It’s already difficult enough to score runs against Bangor’s pitching staff, but now the Rams are giving up walks just as grudgingly.

Bangor starters Jeremy Karam and Barrett Dionne pitched back-to-back shutouts while yielding no walks and nine total hits – all singles – for a doubleheader sweep of Presque Isle on a beautiful day at Mansfield Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Karam outdueled Wildcats’ starter Chris Lavaway in the first game to lead Bangor to a 1-0 win and the Rams used a six-run fifth inning to pull away for an 8-0 victory in the second.

“No walks and one hit batsmen in 14 innings? When you’re doing that, you’ve got a great chance to win,” said coach Bob Kelley, whose Rams improve to 4-0.

Bangor pitchers have now thrown three straight shutouts and haven’t allowed a run in their last 20 innings.

In the first game, the only run came early after an apparent pickoff turned into a stolen base. After Jim Shea reached on a fielder’s choice with one out, Lavaway caught him as he began running toward second, but his throw to first sailed wide, allowing Shea to steal second and go to third on the the errant throw. Karam then smacked a 1-1 pitch to straightaway center for a sacrifice fly. After a Justin Libbey single, Lavaway retired Shawn Bouchard on a flyout to end the threat.

For the rest of the game, the knuckleballing Lavaway virtually matched Karam pitch for pitch, scattering three more hits over the next six innings with five strikeouts and no walks.

“Chris only threw 59 pitches, but we just couldn’t muster a couple hits together and get anyone in scoring position,” said coach Tim Olore, whose ‘Cats are now 1-2.

The Wildcats’ senior righthander threw 43 pitches (73 percent) for strikes. But Karam had the advantage of that one run and he was strong throughout the game, routinely spotting a blazing fastball at the knees and throwing 61 of 81 pitches for strikes (75 percent) en route to a four-hitter.

“If I’d given up any walks today, that could have been the difference between winning and losing,” said Karam, now 2-0.

Of the four baserunners PI put on, two were picked off at first.

“We had two guys picked off for outs and then the one we had picked off ended up scoring the only run,” Olore said.

The second game looked like a repeat of the first early as Bangor again plated a run in the first, this time on Willie Baird’s leadoff double and two wild pitches, but Bangor added another run in the second on Josh Johnson’s leadoff single, a sacrifice, an error, and his steal of home on a pickoff throw to first.

Then the Rams broke it open with four hits and two costly outfield fielding errors by the ‘Cats. Five of Bangor’s six runs in the inning were unearned and two came on a single to left by Shawn Bouchard, who went all the way to third after the ball was misplayed.

“My kids may have outplayed them for a game and a half, but we just couldn’t get anyone on base, and when an error happened, it really hurt us,” said Olore. “You can’t give a good team more than three outs an inning because they’ll come back to grab you.”

Meanwhile, Dionne (2-0) was putting together an eight-strikeout, four-hit effort. Only two PI runners advanced as far as second base.

“I knew we had a good defense so I just threw the ball and let them hit it if they could,” said Bangor’s senior righthander.

Rams 1, Wildcats 0

(Saturday’s First Game)

Presque Isle (1-1) Bangor (3-0)

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

Nadeau, ss 3 0 1 0 Baird, cf 3 0 1 0

Boyles, cf 3 0 0 0 Shea, 2b 3 1 1 0

Yaeger, 1b 3 0 2 0 Karam, p 2 0 0 1

a-Erickson 0 0 0 0 Libbey, 3b 3 0 2 0

Lavaway, p 3 0 0 0 Bouchard, c 3 0 0 0

J.Gale, 2b 3 0 1 0 Johnson, 1b 2 0 1 0

Gahagen, dh 2 0 0 0 Bombardier, ss 2 0 0 0

Stevens, 3b 0 0 0 0 Anderson, lf 2 0 0 0

McKenna, lf 2 0 0 0 Vanidestine, rf 2 0 0 0

Saucier, rf 2 0 0 0

Bard, c 2 0 0 0

Totals 23 0 4 0 Totals 22 1 5 1

a-ran for Yaeger in seventh

Presque Isle 000 000 0 – 0

Bangor 100 000 x – 1

LOB – Presque Isle 2; Bangor 4 SB – Libbey, Shea SF – Karam

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

Presque Isle

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

Bangor

Karam (W,2-0) 7 4 0 0 0 7

TIME – 1:11 ATTENDANCE – 73

Rams 8, Wildcats 0

(Saturday’s Second Game)

Presque Isle (1-2) Bangor (4-0)

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

Nadeau, ss-p 4 0 1 0 Baird, cf 4 1 1 0

Boyles, cf 3 0 0 0 Shea, 2b 3 1 1 0

Yaeger, 1b 3 0 0 0 a-Campbell 1 0 0 0

Lavaway, 3b-ss 3 0 1 0 Karam, dh 2 1 0 0

J.Gale, p-rf 3 0 0 0 Worcester, dh 1 0 0 0

McKenna, lf 3 0 1 0 Libbey, 3b 1 1 0 0

Gahagen, 2b 3 0 1 0 Hockman, 3b 1 0 1 0

M.Gale, 2b 0 0 0 0 Bouchard, c 2 1 1 2

Stevens, dh-3b 2 0 0 0 Proctor, c 1 0 0 0

Saucier, rf 1 0 0 0 Johnson, 1b 3 2 1 1

Bard, c 1 0 0 0 Curran, 1b 0 0 0 0

Clark, c 2 0 1 0 Bombardier, ss 1 1 0 0

b-Sullivan 1 0 1 0

Anderson, lf 2 0 1 1

c-Hackney 1 0 0 0

Vanidestine, rf 2 0 0 1

Ferguson, rf 0 0 0 0

Totals 28 0 4 0 Totals 26 8 7 5

a-flied out for Shea in sixth

b-doubled for Bombardier in fifth

c-flied out for Anderson in fourth

Presque Isle 000 000 0 – 0

Bangor 110 060 x – 8

E – Lavaway, McKenna 2; Shea, Libbey, Curran 2B – Baird, Sullivan LOB – Presque Isle 8; Bangor 7 SB – Libbey, Johnson S – Bombardier SF – Vanidestine

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

Presque Isle

J.Gale (L,1-1) 3 2 2 1 3 2

Nadeau 2 4 6 1 1 1

Gagnon 1 1 0 0 0 0

Bangor

Dionne (W,2-0) 7 4 0 0 0 8

HBP – Nadeau by Dionne WP – J. Gale 4, Nadeau TIME – 1:43 ATTENDANCE – 131