In the words of veteran head coach Dave Morris, the Bangor Rams varsity baseball team “knows what they are shooting for.”
With a record 14 Class A state titles, plus two regional championships since the pandemic, the Rams have a rich tradition of winning, and they expect this spring will be no different.
Beginning Wednesday at Lewiston, the 2024 Rams will lean on a model of success that brought them to the regional championship game last season — they will field a young, tight-knit group with a few veteran leaders, and plan on finding their stride at the right time. Last year’s team finished with a 10-9 record.
“Our greatest strength is that we have kids that love the game of baseball, and have good relationships with one another,” Morris said. “We have a strong sophomore class with a lot of potential, and seniors whose bats came alive in games we really needed last year. We still have a lot of work to do, and we have a commitment to being good.”
Of the Rams’ 18-man squad, Bangor will derive leadership and clutch play from seniors Yates Emerson (second baseman, shortstop), Jack Schuck (catcher), Geo Socolow (outfielder), Jack Earl (third baseman) and Colby Chesson (outfield).
Emerson, Schuck and Socolow started practically every game for Bangor last year, combining for 22 RBIs on .250 hitting in the regular season. In late May, Emerson hit a grand slam against Skowhegan to nail down a pivotal 5-3 victory, and in the regional championship game against Edward Little, Socolow hit a three-run home run.
Headlining the Rams’ sizable sophomore class will be Kyle Johnson (pitcher, first baseman), Teddy Stephenson (pitcher, infielder), Gavin Glanville-True (center fielder) and Ethan Sproul (second baseman, shortstop).
Johnson pitched 13 2/3 innings in the regular season last year, and had a solid 3.58 ERA with 19 strikeouts. Stephenson pitched just 2/3 innings (0.0 ERA), but will get plenty of experience on the mound this year alongside Johnson.
In the lineup, Glanville-True and Sproul are terrific contact hitters with a great feel for the strike zone, combining to hit .327 last season with a combined on-base percentage north of .440. Johnson and Stephenson also have good eyes, boasting on-base percentages significantly higher than their batting averages.
“They’re hard workers, and great people,” Morris said. “We’ll have a young pitching staff, so it’s gonna take everyone to win. Nobody cares who gets the credit.”
After road trips to Lewiston and Camden Hills over the next week, Bangor will have its home opener against Hampden Academy at 4:30 p.m., on April 24, at Mansfield Stadium.
“The league’s going to have a lot of parity this year,” Morris said. “Brewer, Hampden and Edward Little will all be good — we’re looking forward to playing them.”
