Case, Cormier, Doucette, Watkin lead Chatham Ironmen

The Chatham Ironmen captured the gold medal at the 2019 BIGS Seeds Men’s Canadian championship. Photo: Dan Estey

Chatham Ironmen Capture 2019 Men’s Canadian Baseball Title

By Dan Estey

Canadian Baseball Network

The Chatham Ironmen rode a string of great games and some unbelievable energy from the home crowd as they captured the 2019 BIGS Seeds Men’s Canadian championship. Chatham ran the table in the 10-team event as they went 4-0 in league play and 2-0 in the playoff round to capture the National crown.

The Ironmen got their tournament off and running, and they defeated the Burnaby Bulldogs from British Columbia by a score of 4-1. Kris Keating was the big stick for Chatham going 3-for-3 with a walk while Brodie Hawkins was 2-for-3 with an RBI for BC. JP Stevenson, a pickup from PEI, went five innings for the win while former pro Andrew Case went two innings to grab the save. Veteran hurler Shawn Schaefer from Coquitlam took the tough loss for the Bulldogs.

On Friday, the Ironmen had a pair of games starting with an afternoon tilt against the Sherwood Park Athletics from Alta. This was the game of the round robin as they teams were tied 4-4 after five innings. Nobody got on the scoreboard again until the 11th inning when the A’s plated a pair of runs. Not phased, Chatham picked away and tied the game up again at six to push the game further into extra innings.

Sherwood Park would break the deadlock again in the 13th inning plating another pair of runs to take an 8-6 lead. The resilient Ironmen would not go down quietly again as they plated a run and got the bases loaded with one out on a pair of hits and an intentional free pass. Moncton’s Justin Cormier was the next batter and he laced a single past second base scoring a pair of runs good for a 9-8 walk off victory and sending the Ironmen faithful into a frenzy at the park.

Baseball Canada president Jason Dickson (left) and Baseball Canada rep Gerry LeBlanc (far right) present former Tecumseh Thunder and current Chatham Ironmen catcher Jeff Watkin with the Tournament’s Top Hitter Award. Photo: Dan Estey.

Tournament Top Hitter and All-Star Catcher Jeff Watkin had a huge game as he went 4-for-7 with a home run, a double, a pair of runs and an RBI while Tony Olson was the big stick for Sherwood Park going 4-for-7 with a run and three RBI. Rhett Fraser, the third of three Chatham hurlers took the win in relief while Dylan Theroux took the loss for Alberta.

After all the excitement, the host club still had another game that night as they took on Nova Scotia No. 2 the Sydney Sooners. Chatham was in full control in this game as they plated six runs in both the fourth and sixth innings to break open a tight game. They hit a bit of a blimp in the bottom of the sixth as the Sooners plated five runs to cut into the lead. The teams traded runs in the seventh inning leading to a 13-6 Ironmen win.

Dillon Doucette, another PEI product, had a fantastic game as he went 5-for-5 with a home run, a pair of doubles, three runs and an RBI. Jordan Pelham was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles, a run and three RBI in a losing cause for Sydney. Jamie Walls got the win on the hill going five inning and allowing only three hits while Craig Field took the loss for Nova Scotia #2.

In their final round robin match-up on Saturday, Chatham took on the St. John’s Capitals of the Newfoundland Senior League. Chatham got things rolling early in this one as they scored five runs in the first and another pair in the third for a 7-1 lead. The Caps got one back in the bottom of the third but another run in the fourth and five more runs in the fifth put this one to bed 13-1 for Chatham.

Nick Leggatt was the hot stick for Chatham going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk a pair of runs and three RBI while Caps veteran Brent Power was 1-for-2 with a walk to lead Newfoundland. Jean-Francois Neveu got the win for Chatham as he carried a no hitter bid into the fifth inning. Aaron Peach took the loss for St. John’s.

Based on their 4-0 record, the Ironmen earned a bye into the semi-finals and a rematch with the Burnaby Bulldogs. Team BC got things off and rolling early as they scored runs in the first and second to take an early 2-0 lead. Chatham would cut that lead in half in the bottom of the second of a Justin Cormier single.

Both pitchers went to work after that throwing up clean innings on both sides. It wasn’t until the sixth inning when Devan Thomas took a Shawn Schaefer mistake and deposited over the fence in right field for a two-run shot and a 3-2 Ironmen lead. Case, who entered in the sixth, shut the door in the seventh to earn the win and trip to the National Gold Medal Game.

Watkin led the way for the Ironmen again going 2-for-3 while Tyler Yorko had a solid game in a losing cause going 3-for-4 for Burnaby. Case grabbed the win in relief of JP Stevenson who went five innings for Chatham. Schaefer took the tough loss for the 2nd time in the tournament against the scrappy host club.

The gold medal game was an all east coast affair as the Ironmen took on Nova Scotia No. 1 the Dartmouth Dry. This game featured some big boppers for both teams, but the pitchers were front and center in this game as Moncton pick-up Sam Lund went for the Ironmen while Jeff Reeves got the nod for Dartmouth.

Chatham got on the board first in this one as Doucette hit a solo bomb to left field for a 1-0 lead. Dartmouth would answer back two innings later as Home Run derby champion Chris Thibideau crushed a solo shot on his own to knot the game 1-1. The Ironmen would answer right back with a pair of runs on an RBI ground out and an hit batter with the bases loaded.

For the third time in the tournament, Chatham trotted Case out to the mound looking to bring national gold to the Miramichi. The first two batters of the inning singled and doubled off Case and just like that it was 3-2 with a runner on second no one out.

Case beared down from there though as he retired the next two batters but a Dan Comeau single put runners at the corners for pinch hitter Chris Head. A nervous but energetic crowd watched on as Head slapped a ball between 1st and 2nd. A great diving play by Doucette and a flip to Case ended the game and sent Ironmen Field into pandemonium making the final score 3-2.

Doucette had a solo home run for Chatham while Orry Cook and Robert Gallant had the other RBI for the Ironmen. Anthony McKinley was 2-for-3 to lead the Dry while Thibideau and Mike Reeves had the RBIs for Dartmouth.

This is the first Canadian Men’s title for Chatham since they last won it all in 1995 on home turf as well.