Bangor baseball ousts Mt. Ararat in A North semifinal

[ **Our Communities. Our Teams. Our Future. **We’re proud to make high school sports coverage free for everyone, because these moments matter. At Maine State Credit Union, we’re here for the people and places that make Maine strong. Let’s go! Learn more at **[mainestatecu.org](http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=7274124606&iu=/6119)**.   Bangor celebrates Kyle Johnson’s three-run homer in the third inning of a Class A North baseball semifinal Saturday against Mt. Ararat in Topsham. Bangor won a rematch of last year’s regional final. (Cooper Sullivan/Staff Photographer) View 9 photos TOPSHAM — Lucas Rutherford believes Bangor High is the best defensive baseball team in Maine. Teammate Kyle Johnson thinks no other team in the state works on hitting as much as the Rams. Rutherford starred on the mound, Johnson produced at the plate, and Bangor is headed to its sixth-straight Class A North final after beating Mt. Ararat, 5-2, in a regional semifinal Saturday. The third-seeded Rams (15-3) scored all five of their runs in the third inning. Ethan Sproul’s grounder to shortstop drove in the first run, Jacoby Harvey’s single down the left-field line brought in the second, and Johnson cleared the bases with a three-run homer to left center. “I knew it pretty early off the bat, and it was just a game-breaking play,” Johnson said. In the bottom of the fourth, Jake Morrell drove in two runs for the second-seeded Eagles (14-4) with a single to shallow center. [The defending regional champions](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/06/17/mt-ararat-beats-bangor-for-a-north-title/) ended the next three innings with runners in scoring position, leaving the bases loaded in the seventh. “Guys are just real resilient, and you know, when you have great pitching and good defense, you get a timely hit, you can come out on top,” Bangor coach Dave Morris said. “But give credit to (Mt. Ararat), they’re a great program. They did a great job. They got some really nice players. But I’m proud of our guys. All season long, we’ve been playing with this (resiliency).” Advertisement Bangor will face top-seeded Oxford Hills (17-1) on Tuesday at Morton Field in Augusta. The Rams are the only team to beat the Vikings this year, winning 10-5 on May 8. “For us personally, us seniors, this is our fourth time being there,” Johnson said. “We kind of know what it takes to get there, we’re just trying to try to get over that hump this year. We’re looking forward to it, and we’ll be ready.” RUTHERFORD’S SECOND CHANCE • Rutherford earned the start on April 29 when the two teams met in Bangor, but the senior right-handed pitcher was pulled shortly after the Eagles scored five runs in the second inning. Morris chalked it up to one bad inning early in the season, and still kept faith in his starter. “I went into (Saturday) relaxed,” said Rutherford, who finished with nine strikeouts. “I was focusing right down the middle, and just execute, because I know the defense is going to take care of the outs.” • Johnson, the catcher, said Rutherford found success because of the many first-pitch strikes. Rutherford faced just three batters in the second and third innings before fanning multiple batters in the fourth, fifth and sixth. “He kept us off balance,” Mt. Ararat coach Brett Chase said. “He pitched really well. I mean, he was fantastic today.” STATISTICAL LEADERS • Bangor: Lucas Rutherford (six innings, six hits, two earned runs, two walks, nine strikeouts), Kyle Johnson (three-run home run), Jacoby Harvey (2 for 3, RBI, run), Jonas Gilley (2 for 2), Ethan Sproul (1 for 4, RBI, run) • Mt. Ararat: Colby MacFawn (three innings, three hits, zero earned runs, two walks, four strikeouts), Jake Morrell (1 for 3, two RBI), Will Davis, (2 for 3, run), Tyler Thibeault (1 for 3, run) Copy the Story Link Tagged: [bangor rams](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/bangor-rams/), [mt ararat eagles](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/mt-ararat-eagles/), [times record sports](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/times-record-sports/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/cooper-sullivan) [Cooper SullivanStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/cooper-sullivan) Cooper Sullivan covers high school and collegiate sports in Brunswick and the surrounding communities. He is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he studied at Wake Forest University ('24) and held. [More by Cooper Sullivan](https://www.pressherald.com/author/cooper-sullivan)