AUBURN — Edward Little relief pitcher Owen Scott never let on that he was nervous on the mound at Central Maine Community College on Wednesday.
The junior was making his varsity debut in a tie game, and yet Scott kept it together and helped the Red Eddies to an 8-5 victory over Bangor in a Class A baseball opener for both squads. The contest also was a rematch of last spring’s Class A North final, which the Rams won 1-0.
“I felt good, but you know, nerves got to me a little bit,” Scott said. “My heart was pounding, but I just didn’t show it. It was just kind of like tunnel vision – just going out there and doing my job.
“But I kept cool and my teammates had my back. It was a team effort. Around my second inning and (facing) the bottom of the order, I found my stride.”
Scott replaced starting pitcher Drew Smith in the top of the fifth inning. He did allow a run but didn’t give up a hit and struck out three batters in those three innings of relief.
“(Owen Scott) is crafty as a lefty,” Edward Little coach Dave Jordan said. “He is a good matchup after you are seeing a guy (Smith) throwing with some good velocity, to kind of mix and match a little bit in terms of a different style of pitcher.”
The game was tied 5-5 going into the bottom of the fifth when the Red Eddies moved ahead 6-5. Catcher Brody Keefe got on due to an error and moved to second on Peyton Dyer’s sacrifice bunt. Keefe then came home on Eli St. Laurent’s RBI double.
“I thought our guys show a lot of resilience to make mistakes but then still come back and make plays when they needed to gut out a win. So I am proud of them for that,” Jordan said. “I thought some of our other guys came up big, in terms of getting bunts down and good pitching performances.”
The Red Eddies used a five-hit attack in the bottom of the sixth to plate two more runs to put more distance between them and the Rams.
TJ Kramarz singled and came home Campbell Cassidy’s RBI single, with an error also being charged to the Bangor shortstop. Cassidy advanced to third base on Smith’s sacrifice bunt and scored when Brody Keefe was thrown out at first base by Bangor pitcher Wyatt Stevens.
“I think both teams tried to make each make some mistakes and capitalize on them,” Bangor coach David Morris said. “I thought Drew (Smith) pitched a hard-throwing game. (The Red Eddies) hit the ball at the time they needed to hit the ball, but I think stolen bases helped both teams greatly.
“Then their lefty came in, and to be honest with you, he kept us off balance a little bit. They got a good club.”
The Red Eddies scored one run in the first inning. Cassidy got on with one of his three singles and eventually scored thanks to an error and a fielder’s choice.
The Rams responded with three runs in the top of the second with help from a couple of past balls and an error.
“(The Rams) are a good team. I’ve got to give it to them,” Scott said. “They battled us, but we battled harder and we won.”
Edward Little jumped ahead 4-3 after erupting for four runs in the bottom of the second. Cassidy and Keefe each drove in a run and an infield error brought home Kramarz, who singled, and Caleb Albert, who was hit by a pitch.
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