The Messalonskee Eagles of Oakland looked ready to return to the Class A North title game, jumping out to a 3-0 lead over the Bangor Rams on Saturday.
But Bangor bounced back in emphatic fashion in front of their home crowd at Mansfield stadium en route to a 7-3 victory.
Some timely hitting from the Rams, a few inopportune miscues from the Eagles and another solid outing from the Bangor pitching staff helped the home team overtake the returning regional champions in the Class A semifinal matchup.
Bangor coach Dave Morris credited his team for “weathering a storm” with hustle and solid pitching.
He credited starting pitcher Lucas Rutherford, who did not get a decision in the game, for holding the line after those first three runs for Messalonskee and preventing the deficit from growing any larger.
Morris said Rutherford “pitched a heck of a game” in his four inning effort, which featured five strikeouts and only one hit. Of the three runs Rutherford gave up, only one was earned.
“You’re down three-nothing in a game like that, sometimes you can have a tendency to go home. And our guys didn’t,” Morris said. “Guys came off the bench, pinch hit. Guys came in and played. Just a great team win.”
That win didn’t always look like a sure thing, even after Bangor had taken a four run lead. The Eagles made things very interesting in the top of the seventh inning, loading the bases and sending the tying run to the plate.
Fans at Mansfield stadium may have been on edge, but Bangor reliever Kyle Johnson was calm. And he was exactly where he wanted to be.
“It felt good to have the ball in my hand, and wouldn’t have it any other way,” Johnson said after he struck out the final two batters of the game and helped send the Rams to the regional championship.
Johnson also contributed at the plate, and like his team, bounced back from a slow start. After an early strikeout, Johnson turned around with an RBI double that helped the Rams stretch their lead late in the game.
“You just got to have a short-term memory,” Johnson said. “Not everything is gonna go your way.”
That resilient attitude has been a fixture in the Bangor dugout this season.
“We’ve been doing it all year,” Johnson said. “We get down and it’s almost like we feel more comfortable that way. It kind of lights a fire under us, playing from behind.”
With Saturday’s comeback victory over No. 7 Messalonskee, third-seeded Bangor now heads to the Class A North final on Tuesday against the winner of No. 1 Mt. Ararat and No. 5 Oxford Hills.
