The baseball bats came alive in Thursday night’s matchup between Hampden Academy and Bangor, culminating in a wild 13-11 come-from-behind victory for the Broncos at Mansfield Stadium.
The pivotal action came in the top of the seventh with two outs, when Hampden junior Andrew Cote smacked a 2-2 curveball into right field for a bases clearing triple, turning an 11-10 deficit into a 13-11 lead with one swing of the bat.
“Honestly, I was shaking in my boots, I’m not gonna lie,” Cote (2-for-4, one walk, four RBIs) said. “I found a way to put the barrel on the ball, and good things happen when you do.”
Both sides found good wood all evening, with Hampden and Bangor exchanging four-run outbursts in the second inning, and the Rams taking an 11-7 lead after putting up five runs in the fifth.
Unfazed, the Broncos retaliated with three runs each in the sixth and seventh innings, keyed by a two-out, two-run single for senior shortstop TJ Llerena (1-for-4, two RBIs), followed by Cote’s three-run triple an inning later. On the bump, juniors Bodie Bishop (three innings, three earned runs, two strikeouts, win) and Kaysen Wildman (one inning, one strikeout, save) withstood the chilly weather and kept the Rams off the board for the final two frames.
“I’m so proud of our kids, and their resiliency. They didn’t quit,” Hampden head coach Jon Perry said. “I just can’t say enough about their mental fortitude. We took a punch, and they punched back. We took a punch, and they punched back.”
In addition to Llerena and Cote, Bishop (three walks, three runs) had a solid offensive outing, as did Hampden senior corner infielder Garrett McLeod (2-for-5, three RBIs).
Upperclassmen outfielders Zach McLaughlin and Aidan Hulsey also collected two hits each, as the Broncos finished with nine hits, seven walks, two stolen bases and four errors. McLaughlin was the first to bat a run in on Thursday, scoring Wildman on a single to left field in the second inning.
Meanwhile, Bangor’s offense was paced by senior catcher Jack Schuck (1-for-2, three walks, three runs), sophomore first baseman Kyle Johnson (3-for-5, four RBIs, two runs) — Johnson also happened to throw a one-hit shutout versus Camden Hills on Monday — and sophomore pitcher Teddy Stephenson (2-for-4, one walk, two RBIs).
As a team, the Rams finished with 11 hits, six walks, two stolen bases and four errors. On the bump, Stephenson pitched three and two-thirds innings (five hits, four walks, two strikeouts, four earned runs), and sophomore Scott Socobasin pitched three innings (four hits, three walks, five earned runs, two strikeouts).
“The sun didn’t help us tonight, and we made a couple mistakes, but the kids never gave up,” Bangor head coach Dave Morris said. ”It was a good, hard-fought game. Give credit to Hampden, they hit the ball when they needed to. That’s baseball.”
Next up, Bangor (2-1) will play Edward Little (1-3) at Mansfield on Friday at 4:30 p.m., in a rematch of last year’s Class A North title game. Meanwhile, Hampden (3-0) will host Lewiston (1-3) on Saturday at noon.
Through three games this season, Bangor and Hampden are both boasting run differentials of plus-16, having scored roughly ten runs per game.
