OAKLAND — It was the same-old, same-old for the Lawrence High School baseball team Friday afternoon. This season, that’s a good thing.
The Bulldogs got another strong pitching performance, this time from Derek Bowen. That, combined with a timely and opportunistic offense, led Lawrence to a 7-1 win over rival Messalonskee. It was the fourth straight game in which the Bulldogs allowed one run or less.
Lawrence improved to 4-1, while Messalonskee fell to 3-2.
“Derek came out and did a great job and threw a lot of strikes. He gave us six strong innings,” Lawrence coach Rusty Mercier said. “I have to give Devon Webb credit for how he’s handled our pitching staff. He’s a first-year catcher, a converted shortstop and he’s outstanding. He’s probably calling 75 percent of the game.”
Bowen allowed one unearned run in six innings, striking out 10 to go along with four hits and two walks. He felt his best pitch was his two-seam fastball.
“It felt like it was tailing a lot,” Bowen said. “I just kept it away from them, didn’t give them anything to hit and made sure I was hitting my spots.”
Bowen worked out of minor jams throughout the game, stranding Messalonskee runners at third base in the second and fourth innings.
“I think we were being too patient. (Bowen) was around the strike zone,” Messalonskee coach Ray Bernier said. “I think we were just waiting for a perfect pitch.”
The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Webb led off with a double, swiped third base and scored on Braden Ballard’s groundout to first base. Lawrence scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to pull away. Kolby Lawrence singled to drive in a run, and Bowen’s two-run single two batters later pushed the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-0. J.T. Nutting later scored on a throwing error to give Lawrence a 5-0 cushion, which Bowen said put him further at ease.
“It calmed me down a lot on the mound. It got a little tense at points,” Bowen said.
The Bulldogs added two more runs in the seventh when Webb scored on an error after his second double and Josh Dow’s RBI double scored pinch runner Riley Parlin.
“It’s all mental for us. It’s generally a strength of our team but give credit to Lawrence. They put some pressure on, sent guys and put us in tough spots. We didn’t handle it well. It’s a good, early-season lesson,” Bernier said.
The Eagles scored an unearned run in the fifth. Connor Garland walked, went to second on a wild pitch and scored when Tommy Fortin reached on an error. Tyler Noonan started and pitched five innings for Messalonskee, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out three.
Dustin Brown had three hits for the Eagles.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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