BANGOR, Maine — Much of Bangor High School’s baseball success in recent years has been rooted in a deep and productive offense.
The Rams are still generating nearly seven runs a game this spring, but a solid and sometimes big-play defense has been of particular importance in leading coach Jeff Fahey’s club to a 14-3 record and a berth in the Eastern Maine Class A semifinals Saturday at top-ranked Messalonskee of Oakland.
That game is one of 16 baseball and 16 softball semifinals to be played around the state, with survivors advancing to regional championship games Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bangor split two regular-season games against Messalonskee, defeating the 13-4 Eagles 11-1 in six innings at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor on May 8 and then falling 5-3 at Oakland on May 29. Bangor also defeated Messalonskee 12-10 last week during the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A tournament.
In Bangor’s loss to the Eagles, an error helped Messalonskee score four runs in the sixth inning to mount a late comeback, but such defensive lapses have been far more the exception than the rule for the Rams this spring.
Bangor has committed just 24 errors in its 17 games so far this season, or just 1.4 errors per game, and the pitching staff has allowed just 14 unearned runs in 110 innings.
“We’ve got a lot of solid players who have some experience at all the positions, so there have been few errors this year, which is nice,” said Bangor senior pitcher Darren Casey-Covell.
Casey-Covell was in on perhaps Bangor’s biggest defensive play so far this spring during the Rams’ 4-2 quarterfinal victory over Mount Ararat of Topsham on Thursday.
Mount Ararat led 2-1 and had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the fifth when Casey-Covell came on in relief.
With no margin for error, he induced the first batter he faced to ground to junior shortstop Cody McInnis, who fed the ball to senior second baseman Chad Kelley to start an inning-ending double play.
“It makes it pretty easy to turn double plays when you’ve got the best second baseman in the state playing next to you,” said McInnis, who has committed just three errors this spring. “That’s probably the biggest thing. All I’ve got to do is get the ball to him.”
That McInnis and Kelley were in position to turn that double play stemmed from a successful strategic move by Fahey, who typically would have had his defense in a different alignment in that scenario but instead sensed the possibility that Casey-Covell would throw low strikes that might produce a grounder.
“In this case I had the infield back at double-play depth and I moved the corners in,” Fahey said. “Normally I don’t gamble and I bring in the entire infield in for that situation, but I just thought if they hit a ground ball we could turn it up the middle.”
Bangor quickly capitalized on that defensive momentum, tying the game in the bottom of the fifth and taking the lead for good with two more runs in the sixth.
All the while, the Rams played errorless defense.
“Cody and I have been able to turn the double play all year whenever we get the chance,” said Kelley, who has just five errors so far this season. “So coach is pretty confident that if we get a ground ball we’ll be able to turn it.”
McInnis and Kelley are a first-year pairing in the middle of the Bangor defense that has developed into one of the team’s strengths.
“They play very well together,” said Fahey. “In practice they’re always working together with their footwork and where they want to receive the ball. I think they’re as good as anybody, certainly in the KVAC.”
Early in the season McInnis was less consistent defensively, but he has come on strong as he has grown more comfortable in his role. He fielded seven grounders flawlessly to produce eight outs in the playoff win over Messalonskee.
“Cody’s a solid player,” said Kelley, who before this season saw duty at both second base and shortstop for the Rams. “Last year we brought him up and gave him a little taste of varsity and I think that helped him a lot.”
That duo, along with the speed of center fielder Lonnie Hackett and the steady work behind the plate and pitch-calling acumen of sophomore catcher Dylan Morris, have left Bangor well positioned at some of the most crucial defensive positions — up the middle.
“It makes it a lot easier when you’ve got guys like I do behind me,” said Casey-Covell. “I know if I just throw strikes they’re going to vacuum up anything that gets hit.”
