Facing elimination and needing a win to extend their season, the Moncton Mets delivered when it mattered most.
The Mets rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday night at Kiwanis Park, stunning the Chatham Ironmen 5-4 in Game 6 of their semifinal series and forcing a decisive Game 7 tonight in Chatham.
With a berth in the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League championship on the line, Moncton erased a 4-3 deficit in its final at-bat to keep its season alive. The winner of tonight’s Game 7 will advance to face the Charlottetown Islanders in the league final.
Chatham appeared to be in control early, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Ironmen manufactured the runs without recording a hit, capitalizing on walks and timely situational hitting to put immediate pressure on the home side.
Moncton answered in the third.
Justin Cormier and Kolin Betts helped spark the rally before Nick St. Pierre delivered the game’s biggest hit to that point, a two-run double that put the Mets ahead 3-2. St. Pierre finished with three RBIs and reached base three times, carrying much of the offensive load for Moncton.
The Ironmen responded in the fifth inning. Kevin Landry lined an RBI double and Chatham added another run later in the frame to reclaim a 4-3 lead. Landry’s double was the only extra-base hit of the night for the visitors, who managed five hits overall.
Moncton refused to let the season end at home.
Trailing by a run entering the seventh, the Mets put together one final rally against Chatham pitching. Stefan Martin, who scored twice in the contest, helped ignite the comeback as Moncton pushed across the tying run and then the game-winner to send the Kiwanis Park crowd home celebrating and extend the series to the limit.
On the mound, Eric Bourque gave the Mets a strong start, retiring all six batters he faced over 1.2 innings. Don Goodes worked 4.1 innings in relief, allowing four runs while striking out five, and earned the victory to improve to 3-0 on the season. Brandon Hillier closed things out with a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two.
Moncton finished with an 8-5 edge in hits. Along with St. Pierre’s three-RBI night, Jeremie Arsenault and St. Pierre each doubled, while Jesse Malone, Nick LeBlanc, Betts and Cormier all contributed key hits in the winning effort.
For Chatham, Mike McKay, Kris Keating, Jake Cook, Adam Wenzel and Landry accounted for all five hits.
Now, after six tightly contested games, the semifinal comes down to one final showdown.
The Mets have the momentum. The Ironmen have home field.
Tonight in Chatham, one team will punch its ticket to the championship series against Charlottetown, while the other’s season comes to an end.
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