BRUNSWICK — Together. That’s the word the Bangor softball team screamed as they broke from their pregame huddle before Saturday’s game against Brunswick.
“We wanted to get this done together, as a team,” said Bangor head coach Don Stanhope. “That was my biggest message to them before the game.”
So they did.
Behind a gem from Lane Barron and some timely hitting from a dynamic Bangor lineup, the No. 8 Rams downed the No. 4 Dragons with an 8-4 win in a Class A North semifinal game on Saturday afternoon.
“We had a lot of momentum on our side after last game,” said Barron, who earned the win in the circle and went 1 for 4 at the dish with an RBI single in the third inning that gave the Rams the lead for good. “We’ve all been feeling good and have been on a good run, everyone has been hitting their stride at the right time of the season.”
Lane struck out nine while allowing just four hits on three runs and three walks.
“I think that going up against a team that I am unfamiliar with helps me in the long run,” added Barron. “I don’t know them, but they don’t know me, it’s a guessing game for both sides.”
The Dragons finish 13-6.
“This was a fantastic season for us, it was really a huge step in the right direction,” said Brunswick head coach Hugh Dwyer. “It’s a disappointing ending to a very successful season in our book.”
The Rams jumped out to a quick lead in the top of the first. After leadoff hitter Emmie Streams slapped a single to right, Jenna Smith unleashed on a fastball from Brunswick pitcher Ellie Sullivan over the left field fence to make it 2-0.
“Starting early has been a key for us all season,” said Stanhope, whose team played 11 games over the course of a 13-day stretch at the end of the season. “That stretch got us right and gave us some much needed experience, which was crucial for us today.”
The Dragons responded quickly in the bottom half of the inning, when Sullivan struck a two-run double to center to knot things back at two.
Bangor continued to pressure the Dragons, and broke through in the third on a Barron single that scored Streams.
After the Rams scored two more runs off a Taylor Coombs double in the fourth, the Dragons rallied in the fifth to score their third run on a Sophia Morin RBI single.
Bangor added some much needed insurance runs in the seventh, plating three more to take a commanding five-run lead.
The Dragons rallied once more and scored a run after a Kelsey Sullivan RBI double, but Barron struck out Morin to close the door and secure the win.
Sullivan took the loss for Brunswick, allowing eight runs on nine hits while striking out eight.
“Like I said, it’s a disappointing ending, but I think it’s fitting considering where we’ve been and what we know we have coming ahead of us,” said Dwyer, who will return eight of his nine starters next season.
The Rams move on to face No. 2 Skowhegan in the Class A North final, set to take place 6 p.m., Tuesday at Cony High School in Augusta.
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