The No. 4 Bangor Rams took care of business at Mansfield Stadium on Thursday afternoon, dispatching No. 5 Oxford Hills 6-2 in the Class A North quarterfinals.
It was a team effort for Bangor (10-6-1) on offense, with eight different Rams reaching base and six scoring runs.
Sophomore ace Kyle Johnson was the Rams’ player of the game, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning and collecting two doubles, two RBIs and a walk at the plate.
Johnson threw a complete game in 86 pitches, throwing 55 strikes and four strikeouts.
“Pitching and defense is gonna win big games, and Kyle pitched his best game today,” Bangor head coach Dave Morris said. “We had some really great defensive plays, [Jack Schuck] caught a great game, and we had some timely hits. Players win games.”
Bangor set the tone early, with Johnson doubling home Schuck (2-for-3, walk) in the bottom of the first, and senior Yates Emerson wowing the home crowd in the top of the second on a terrific play at short.
The Rams expanded their lead to 5-0 after five innings, with sophomore Ethan Sproul (1-for-3) hitting a bases-loaded single with two outs in the third, and Johnson sending a fly ball to the fence in the fifth to score pinch-runner Trey Tennett from first.
“I brought my A-game today, but it’s not all me out there,” Johnson said. “Hitting spots and pounding the strike zone helps, and the entire team’s out there making plays. Then we come back in and hit and do the job.”
The top of the Vikings’ (11-6) order finally got to Johnson in the sixth, with junior Carter Holbrook (1-for-2, walk) tripling home freshman Gunner Truman (who got on board on a misplay at first), and then sophomore Colton Jendrick (1-for-2) singling home Holbrook to make it 4-2.
But Johnson settled back in to get the next three Oxford Hills batters out, and sophomore Scott Sockabasin (2-for-4) drilled a two-RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to effectively seal the win.
“Kyle did great. We finally got to him, but not nearly enough,” Oxford Hills head coach Shane Slicer said. “Three hits is not gonna win a game against Bangor.”
Next up, the Rams are excited to host rival Brewer (8-9) on Saturday at Mansfield Stadium, at a time to be announced.
The No. 8 Witches are riding an interesting two-game win streak, previously beating Bangor 4-1 on May 28 to save their season, and then upsetting Hampden 1-0 on Wednesday.
Bangor won the first game of the season series versus Brewer back on April 29, with Johnson hurling a one-hit shutout over five innings in a 10-0 mercy rule victory.
“It’s a great feeling. I love going toe-to-toe with them,” Emerson said. “We’ve prepared for this stuff. We have practice tomorrow, and as long as we keep having practices the next day, we’re having fun for sure.”
