AUGUSTA – Left-hander Joe Stanevicz outdueled righty Chris Cole to lead Bangor to a 4-2 victory over Ramsdell-Rogers Post in an American Legion baseball state tournament game at McGuire Field.

Stanevicz, headed to Husson University in the fall, pitched a four-hitter to record his fifth win in three years at the state tournament. Cole, who graduated from York High last month, limited Bangor to five hits in eight innings.

“I felt great (Wednesday),” said Stanevicz, who struck out five and walked two. “I felt I was hitting my spots. I was keeping the ball low.

“I was keeping low enough so when they hit it, they were beating the ball into the ground and my teammates made the plays.”

Cole, who struck out six and walked one, nearly matched Stanevicz’s performance.

“We really had a hard time attacking his fastball,” Bangor Coach David Morris said. “He changed speeds on us. He was up, down. We just couldn’t get a rhythm going.”

“I tried to keep them off balance as much as I could and tried to get groundballs,” Cole said.

Bangor score two unearned runs in the fifth inning to snap a 2-2 tie.

“Quite honestly, if we didn’t have a couple of defensive hiccups in the sixth inning, this is a 2-2 game,” Ramsdell-Rogers Coach Chuck Chadbourne said.

“Bangor was as advertised. They made every routine play and they made some outstanding plays. With the exception of (the sixth) inning, I thought we played very, very well.”

Bangor took a 1-0 lead when Cody McInnis led off the game with a walk, stole second and scored on Christian Corneil’s two-out single.

Ramsdell-Rogers tied it in the second when Cole walked, went to third on Arran Maran’s single and scored as Zach Leal grounded into a double play.

Bangor regained the lead in the third. Carl Farnham led off with walk, stole second, went to third on a groundball and scored on Dylan Morris’ infield hit.

Ramsdell-Rogers Post tied it again when Paul McDonough led off the fourth with a double, moved to second on a groundball and scored on an infield error.

Bangor went ahead for good in the fifth after loading the bases with one out on a walk, an error and Morris’ second hit. Corneil’s second hit and another infield error produced the runs.

“They threw us out a couple of times and we got a kid picked off, but that’s our style,” Chadbourne said. “It may come back and bite you, but that’s the way we’re going to play. I think we showed we belong here.”

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH