The Bangor Rams took care of business on the baseball diamond Monday night, trouncing the Brewer Witches 10-0 under the lights at Mansfield Stadium.
A highly anticipated matchup between Bangor sophomore ace Kyle Johnson and Brewer senior ace Grady Vanidestine, it was the Rams that broke the scoreless deadlock in the third inning, exploding for five runs and never looking back.
On the mound, Johnson took a no-hit bid late into the fifth inning, finishing with five strikeouts and his second one-hit complete game of the season — previously spearheading a 9-0 victory over Camden Hills (2-3) on April 22.
In the bottom of the fifth, Bangor sent Brewer packing two frames early, swiftly driving in five runs off junior reliever Zach Arnold and triggering the 10-run mercy rule.
“It’s not just me out there, it’s the other eight guys that make plays for me,” Johnson said. “It’s a combination of attacking the zone and trusting my defense behind me. The [no-hitter] is one of those things you don’t want to talk about to jinx it, so it’s just, ‘Put it in the back of my mind and go out there and pitch.’”
Eight of Bangor’s nine starters also got hits on Monday night, led by senior catcher Jack Schuck (3-for-3, two RBIs, one walk), senior shortstop Yates Emerson (2-for-3, one RBI, one walk) and sophomore designated hitter Scott Socobasin (1-for-1, two RBIs, two walks).
Johnson also batted in a run himself, smacking a single to center field with the bases loaded and nobody out in the third. Three batters later, Socobasin drove in his two RBIs on a single to left field.
In the fifth inning, Bangor only needed seven batters to score five runs, beginning with a sophomore Gio Socolow (1-for-2, one RBI, one walk) single, and ending with a Schuck RBI single that scored sophomore Gavin Glanville-True (1-for-2, two RBI, two runs).
“It feels great, especially against Brewer, coming out here with my guys and just having a day,” Socobasin said. “All of us worked hard. Go Rams, baby!”
As a team, Bangor finished with 11 hits, six walks, six strikeouts and no errors.
With the victory, Bangor improved to 4-1 on the season, and is averaging exactly 10 runs scored per game. The Rams also mercy ruled Edward Little (1-5) on Friday afternoon, dispatching the reigning regional champs 10-0 through four and a half innings.
Reigning Class A North No. 1 seed Brewer moved to 2-3 with Monday night’s result and is averaging a little less than four runs scored per game.
Next up, Bangor will travel to play Mt. Ararat (2-4) on Wednesday at 4:15 p.m., and Brewer will host Brunswick (2-4) on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
