BREWER, Maine — The Bangor High School softball team struggled to deliver with runners in scoring position against Brewer in a Class A North game at Coffin Field Monday night.
But it didn’t matter because senior pitcher Lane Barron tossed a one-hitter and her Ram teammates played errorless ball behind her en route to a 3-0 victory.
Bangor, which went 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position, is now 7-3 and has won five of its last six. Brewer fell to 2-8.
Barron struck out 12, walked five and hit a batter while surrendering only a pop fly single into short center field by Jordin Williams with one out in the first inning.
She got better as the game went along and retired 10 of the last 11 hitters she faced, six via strikeouts.
She wound up throwing 113 pitches, 65 for strikes.
Lane Barron said her curveball and screwball worked well and “I threw a little bit of offspeed to keep them off-balance.”
Junior Morgan Downs pitched well for Brewer, allowing three runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and four walks. Sophomore Laura Stewart held Bangor scoreless over the final 1 1/3 innings.
Pivotal play: Senior first baseman Rae Barron, Lane’s twin, belted a triple over right fielder Jordin Williams’ head in the first inning to deliver Emmie Streams, who had walked and stolen second. She then scored on Ashley Schultz’s line drive single to center.
Streams plated an insurance run in the sixth with a crisp two-out RBI double to right center to cap an evening in which she reached base four times on her double, a single and a pair of walks.
Takeaway: When she throws strikes and mixes up her pitches, Lane Barron is capable of shutting down anyone. She already has a one-hit, 3-2 win over defending state champ Skowhegan and the Rams have held seven of their 10 opponents to three runs or less.
Brewer is getting better and is capable of upsetting teams, as it did against Ellsworth. Witch junior Jordan Doak is an elite defensive shortstop.
What’s next: Both teams will be back in action on Wednesday. Brewer travels to Class B Mount Desert Island for a 4:30 p.m. game while Bangor entertains Hampden Academy at 7 p.m.
