It was only a first sample, but the Chatham Ironmen had a smashing debut in the Miramichi Valley Intermediate Baseball League. The Ironmen successively defeated the Acadians of Caraquet by a score of 10-0 and 14-0 to obviously take the lead in the overall standings.
The Ironmen, who left the senior provincial circuit to join the LBIVM, first got a near-perfect performance from Jamie Walls. The latter only allowed a small single in six innings of work. He also struck out 12 batters on three strikes. Here is one that could wreak havoc this summer against the opposing offensives.
On offense, Cody Dickson took the deal with a double and two singles, good for three RBIs. Jake Cook also had three runs with the help of two singles. Kris Keating, with two doubles, and Charles Malson, with two singles, were also successful in the Ironmen camp.
Coming in relief from the starter Frédéric Lanteigne, who had been rather solid in three innings, the reliever Jack Robichaud was martyred as evidenced by the 10 hits and the three walks allowed in two innings and a third of work.
In Game 2, the Ironmen got another brilliant performance from one of their pitchers, this time from Zach Gosse who only allowed one hit and one walk in five innings. .
Cody Dickson, again, hit three singles and produced two runs in the triumph. Also of note is Jamie Walls’ double and single, as well as Zack Newman’s two singles and three RBIs.
Yan Rail was backhanded, allowing six hits and two free assists in four innings. Young Alexandre Noël did little better in relief, allowing five hits and three walks in a single set of work.
The Tracadie Eagles also started the 2021 season on a winning note, beating the Miramichi Cardinals 2-1 in eight innings.
Rémi Légère and Frédéric-Denis Benoît were the two heroes of the match. The former went with two hits and one run, while the latter limited the opponents to two meager hits and three walks in eight innings of work. Benoît also had seven strikeouts.
Mike Simon did not do badly on the mound of the Cards, he who allowed two singles and three free assists, while disemboweling nine batters on strikes. It was reliever Mark Vautour who conceded the backhand allowing two hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning.
The Dalhousie Dodgers and Chatham Head Tigers, for their part, split the honors in their two-game mini-series.
In the first duel, the young Dodgers won 4-1 thanks to the brilliance of Brayden Label who was able to space five hits and three walks in seven innings of work. Jérémy Doucet was his best hitter with a double, a single and two RBIs. Note also the doubles of Olivier Gendron and Blake Caplin. Jordan Kingston had two singles in the backhand.
In Game 2, the Tigers had the final say this time around 5-3. Unfortunately, statistics for the game were still not available at the time of going to press.
