After playing on a frigid, windy late afternoon two weeks ago, the Bangor High School and Old Town softball teams squared off on a beautiful spring night on Friday.
Class A North Bangor, which won the first game 21-1 in five innings, received a three-hit complete game from senior righthander Lane Barron and a two-run double in the first inning from junior right fielder Ashley Schultz to beat Class B North Old Town 4-1.
Bangor improved to 6-3 while Old Town had its four-game winning streak snapped and is now also 6-3.
Barron struck out 10 and walked two while throwing 106 pitches, 65 for strikes.
“She pitched an incredible game,” said Old Town coach Morgin Cossar. “She hit her spots all game long. It took a while for us to adjust and time her. It’s too bad it was only a seven-inning game.”
Old Town got all three of its hits in the last three innings.
Old Town senior righty Emma Crews allowed only two hits, with both coming in the first inning. She struck out seven and walked seven while throwing 120 pitches, 71 of which were strikes.
Pivotal play: Schultz’s two-run double gave the Rams a quick lead that they never relinquished. She rifled a 1-1 pitch off the fence in left center field, delivering Casey Carter and Rae Barron, who had both drawn one-out walks.
Lane Barron followed by walloping a double to left center to deliver Schultz.
“I have been working on see-the-ball, hit-the-ball,” explained Schultz. “I squared it up. It was right down the middle and I hit it with the sweet spot of the bat.”
Takeaway: Both teams can be very good defensive teams which will keep them in ballgames, especially if Lane Barron and Crews can pitch like they did on Friday.
What’s up next: Both teams play again on Monday as Old Town hosts Foxcroft Academy at 4:30 p.m. while Bangor visits rival Brewer for a 7 p.m. contest.
Note: Bangor High athletic director Steve Vanidestine said scoreboard operator Paul Soucy was alert and responsive when paramedics came to transport him to Bangor’s St. Joseph Hospital after he had a dizzy spell and fell off his stool in the press box, landing on his right shoulder and side. His wife, Linda, accompanied him. Soucy is an icon in eastern Maine as he has coached or been an assistant coach for several high school teams in the Bangor area, an athletic administrator, assistant principal, Eastern Maine basketball tournament floor director and the first director of the Big East Conference. He has also been a high school football official and softball umpire.
