FARMINGTON — When Pallas Hamer-Nagle hit her home run in the top of fourth inning, the Bangor High School left fielder had no idea she was at the front of a power surge the Rams didn’t see coming.
“Going into this game, we were just looking for singles. I didn’t even realize it was going over until I reached second base. It was pretty exciting,” Hamer-Nagle said.
Hamer-Nagle’s blast to left field gave Bangor a one-run lead, and was just the start. The Rams hit three more home runs, including a pair in a six-run sixth inning, to pull away with a 13-6 win at Mt. Blue.
“We’ve been waiting for that to happen for quite a while. They do it every day in practice. They’re working on tees every day, and they’re great students of hitting. It was just a matter of putting the timing together,” Bangor coach Don Stanhope said.
With Bangor (4-6) holding a 6-4 lead after five innings, the Rams broke the game open in the sixth. Gabby Gonzales got it started with a three-run homer to left field. Like Hamer-Nagle, it was Gonzales’ first home run.
“I’ve been working on my hitting. I wasn’t expecting it to go over. I was just trying to make contact just to get on base,” Gonzales said.
After Morgan-Carter Moulton hit an RBI double to push Bangor’s lead to 10-4, Madi Drake went deep for a 12-4 lead. Jordyn Miller led off the top of the seventh with a solo shot for Bangor’s fourth home run.
“In the years I’ve been involved with softball, that was the most power I’ve ever seen in a game. Through four innings, this is a tight game. Then all of a sudden, it’s a launch pad,” Mt. Blue (5-5) coach Ron Smith said. “They were legitimate homers. I don’t care where we play. Every place we’ve seen, those were in access of 200 feet easy. They were shots.”
Bangor’s four home runs were part of a 16-hit attack. Each player in Bangor’s starting lineup had at least a hit and a run scored.
“That’s easily the hardest we’ve been hit all year. Nobody else has come close to that. Whatever’s in the water in Bangor, it’s power water,” Smith said.
Added Stanhope: “We decided we were going to simplify things. Just see the ball, hit it, and try to slow the game down a little bit (Monday).”
After falling behind 5-4 in the fourth, the Cougars had a chance to tie or retake the lead when they loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but they were unable to push a run across. Mt. Blue added two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but could get no closer.
“We had our chances to make it a tighter game. Obviously, the girls started to get a little discouraged,” Smith said.
Rylee Briggs had a pair of hits, scored two runs, and drove in two more for the Cougars.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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