BANGOR- The Bangor Christian Patriots scored a run on an error with two outs in the ninth inning Saturday afternoon, walking off with a 3-2 victory over Woodland in a Class D North semifinal playoff baseball game played at the Winkin Complex on the campus of Husson University.
The starting pitchers, Cole Payne for Bangor Christian and Evan Curtis for Woodland, kept the game scoreless for a good portion of action. The Dragons didn’t have any hits through five innings, and the Patriots didn’t get their first until the bottom of the fifth when Jalen Reed led off with a line drive single to right field. They would score the first run of the game in the same frame when Reed was sacrificed to second base by Conrad Straubel, and would eventually score from third on a wild pitch. Woodland tied it 1-1 in the sixth when Isaiah Nicholas registered their first hit with a line drive single to left, advanced to third on a groundball, and would score on a fielders choice on a bunt by Cyrus Sewell when the throw home by Payne was late. Bangor Christian responded by getting a leadoff double to right centerfield by Jason Libby in the bottom of the sixth. Libby got to third on a passed ball, and came across the plate on a sacrifice flyout by his twin brother Ryan Libby for a 2-1 advantage.
The Patriots were just one out from advancing in the seventh inning, but the Dragons had something to say about that as Jack Downing would single to centerfield to keep things alive. The next batter, Seth Nicholas, made it 2-2 when he took an 0-2 pitch and tripled down the right field line to score Downing. Payne limited the damage to just the one run when he struckout pinch hitter Josh Jordan looking. BC went down in order in the seventh, and both teams did the same in the eighth. Payne finished off his outing by retiring the first two Woodland batters in the ninth inning, including a comebacker to the mound that he fielded while falling onto his back but threw the runner out Shain McIver while still on his back from the side of the hill. A two-out walk to Braden Richard forced him out of the contest, but Ryan Libby came on and struckout Downing swinging. Micah Robert led off the bottom of the ninth for BC with a walk, and that would force Dragons starter Curtis off the mound on pitch count as well. Sewell came on to pitch and allowed a line drive single to left by Ryan Libby. After a groundout to the pitcher by Payne to move the runners up to second and third base, they would walk Colton White intentionally to load the bases with one out. Reed would bounce into a fielders choice, as the second baseman McIver fired home to cut down Robert on a force play for the second out. Straubel then won it when he hit a soft line drive to the Woodland first baseman Seth Nicholas. Nicholas couldn’t handle it as it fell out of his glove, while Straubel slid into first base and Ryan Libby came across home plate to end it in dramatic fashion.
Ryan Libby earned the pitching win facing just one batter in relief of Payne. Payne went 8.2 innings allowing two runs on three hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. Reed and Jason Libby had the hits for Bangor Christian. Curtis went 8.0+ innings for Woodland giving up two runs on two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Sewell was tagged with the pitching defeat, as the #3 Dragons finish their season with a record of 15-3. Isaiah Nicholas, Downing, and Seth Nicholas had one hit each. The #2 seeded Patriots (15-1) advance to the Northern Maine Final where they’ll meet either Madawaska or Katahdin. That other semifinal matchup was moved and is now set to be played on Monday.
Recap/photos/videos by Chris Lessner
Jalen Reed scores the first run of the game on a wild pitch for Bangor Christian
Seth Nicholas ties it with two outs in the seventh for Woodland with an RBI triple
This two-out error on a line drive hit by Conrad Straubel gives Bangor Christian the win, advancing to the Class D Northern Maine Final
