BANGOR, Maine – The Brewer High School baseball team looked every bit like one of the favorites in Class A North Tuesday evening.
In spite of leaving 10 runners on base, the Witches got a strong five-inning performance out of sophomore righthander Logan Littlefield and took advantage of some Bangor miscues to scratch out a regular-season ending 4-2 victory over the rival Rams at Mansfield Stadium.
Littlefield was summoned in the top of the second inning and allowed just one run on one hit while striking out four and walking three to help coach Dana Corey’s club wrap up a 14-2 regular season.
Brewer had clinched the top seed in Class A North.
Bangor, which was riding a three-game winning streak, heads into postseason play at 8-8 and will likely be the No. 6 seed in the region.
Littlefield and his Witches didn’t panic after trailing 2-0 early, and Brewer seized control with a four-run third-inning uprising, with three walks and two Bangor errors being the prime contributors.
Rowan Valley got it started by working a bases-loaded walk, and Littlefield’s run-scoring single to shallow right tied it at 2.
After Valley scored on a perfectly executed double-steal, Littlefield came home on a throwing error.
In spite of the three walks, which Littlefield admitted were uncharacteristic for him, the sophomore didn’t allow a Ram past second base after the second inning.
“I just focused on throwing strikes,” said Littlefield, who exhibited sound command of his fastball and was the game’s lone repeat hitter with two singles. “I just battled and stuck with my pitches. I just battled and kept throwing strikes.”
Littlefield’s brother Blake worked around a walk and a base hit in the seventh to nail down the save for Brewer.
In spite of connecting for only four hits, Brewer was able to take advantage of nine Bangor walks and two Rams errors.
“We were very fortunate we were able to get some people on base and take advantage of their miscues,” Corey said.
“You just can’t give a good team four or five outs and you certainly can’t give them nine walks,” said Bangor coach Dave Morris.
The Rams scratched across single runs in the first two innings in spite of mustering only one hit.
Bangor loaded the bases with nobody out in the first thanks to a pair of walks and a hit batsman, but Brewer starter Grady Vanidestine induced a bases-loaded double play to help the Witches limit the damage.
The Rams stretched their lead the following inning on a Matt Holmes sacrifice fly to center.
“We’ve fallen behind a number of times this year and have been able to come back,” said Corey, who pointed at his club’s leaving 10 runners on base as a must-fix during the postseason.
“That’s basically been a nemesis for us,” he added.
Gavin Glanville-True and Wyatt Stevens both singled for Bangor’s lone hits.