BRUNSWICK – When Mt. Ararat and Brunswick High Schools come together for an athletic event, everyone knows the “Battle of the Bridge” is going to be close no matter the sport.
That was surely the case on Thursday as Hunter Lohr’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Eagles to a 4-3 victory over Brunswick in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference baseball game played at Bowdoin College.
Tied at three, Mt. Ararat’s Kobe Clark reached on an infield error to lead off the ninth inning. Left fielder and top of the order batter JD Dionne beat out a perfectly laid down bunt, bringing Lohr to the plate.
Lohr promptly hit a line drive to left as Clark came into score from second base just ahead of the throw for the winning run and the Eagles ran onto the field to surround Clark and Lohr to celebrate the victory.
“Honestly, I was just looking for a strike, something over the middle of the plate so I could drive it,” Lohr said. “Cam Daly is a very good pitcher and I knew he’d keep me off balance.”
Lohr finished the day with three hits, including a double while knocking in three runs.
“I’ve played with him all the way up through,” classmate Austin Damon said. “It was awesome to see him come up with the big hit and be here with him while picking us up on the mound.”
Lohr earned the win on the mound, pitching two scoreless innings, fanning four Dragons in relief of Damon, who started for the Eagles (7-5).
The game was destined to be a back-and-forth affair from the start. Each team allowed an unearned run in the first. The Dragons (3-8) then struck for two in the second off three hits, but an out on the bases prevented them from possibly scoring more.
Cam Dunton led off the frame with a single and moved to second on a bunt by Noah Goddard that he beat out for a hit. Daly reached to load the bases when Damon bobbled his bunt attempt. Scout Masse hit a sacrifice fly to score Dunton and advance Goddard to third. On the next pitch, Goddard was hung up between third and home on Masse’s steal of second for the second out. The next hitter, Coenradt Taylor hit an RBI single to plate Masse.
“We had our opportunities, we ran ourselves out the inning in the second,” Brunswick coach Craig Rogers said. “This has been a problem for us all year, the next guy gets up and gets a hit and it could have been two runs, not just one.”
“Historically our worst two innings have been one and two, so the game plan was to attack early to turn that around and hopefully play a complete game,” Goddard, who had two hits said.
The Eagles cut the deficit to 3-2 in the third after Lohr scored on a Cody Holman RBI single and tied the score in the fourth after manufacturing a run.
Brady Mitchell led the fourth off with a single and was moved over to second on a Trey Booty bunt. Following a walk and an infield single by Dionne, Lohr hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to tie the game, but the Eagles would strand two runners, totaling six through four innings.
“We do a lot of pitching from behind and that gets us into trouble, this weather has not been very favorable with working on stuff,” Rogers said. “But Noah did a great job getting out of some jams. All in all, I’m real happy, it was a good game. We both had our opportunities and they got the hit when they needed to.”
Goddard kept the Dragons off the scoreboard the next two innings, finishing the day with eight hits allowed, two walks and three strikeouts.
“My curveball wasn’t working like I wanted to, but it worked out,” Goddard said.
“We were able to get runners on, but Goddard did a great job on the mound,” Mt. Ararat head coach Brett Chase said. “He’s a sneaky pitcher, he works his stuff and keeps you off balance, he knows how to pitch.”
Lohr also praised Goddard.
“Brunswick’s got a great pitching staff. We knew (Goddard) had a great curveball so that was in the back of our minds keeping us off balance. His fast ball has gotten faster this year and he did a great job,” added Lohr.
Meanwhile, Damon was finding his groove on the hill. After giving up three runs in the first two innings, the senior righty rattled off five innings of no-hit ball, allowing just a pair of walks.
“If Austin can keep his pitches down, he’s fine,” Chase said. “It’s when he leaves his pitches up in the zone, they hit him, and they did that the first two innings, but then he started to locate his pitches.”
“I actually started hitting my spots and I mixed everything in together,” as Damon explained what turned it around for him. “As long as I’m throwing strikes, I know have a good defense behind me.”
His defense came up with some big plays en route to the victory. Holman made a diving catch on a foul ball down the right field line to open the seventh and after a one-walk to Daly, catcher Ryan Robertson threw him out while attempting to steal.
“We’ve been lucky to have Ryan this year,” Chase said of his freshman catcher, who also had a pair of hits. “He’s been able to step in and do a great job for us.”
His pitchers are also glad to have him.
“We had a senior catcher last year, so we weren’t sure what to expect, but he’s been great and I feel very confident throwing to him,” Damon said. “Ryan has come in and fits in well with us. He works hard, blocks everything.”
Both teams are in action on the road on Saturday as Brunswick will travel to Farmington to take on Mt. Blue at 11 a.m., while Mt. Ararat will play Lincoln Academy at 3 p.m.
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