Boulders Back in First, Outlast Quebec in 7-6 Thriller

In a wild battle that saw several lead changes, the Boulders posted a lone run in the eighth inning to defeat the Quebec Capitales, 7-6, at Stade Municipal. With the win, Rockland reclaims first place in the CanAm League by 1/2 game.

Both teams entered the evening off extended travel days, with the Capitales flying in after a loss at Winnipeg on Sunday, with the Boulders taking the coach bus ride north of the boarder after a home loss to New Jersey.

Quebec would draw first blood, with Rene Leveret's single plating Carlos Willoughby in the bottom of the first. Rockland starter Marty Popham would escape further damage on a big double-play ball with first and third and just one out.

Billy Alvino's second-inning double was the third straight hit of the inning off Quebec's Jeff Kaplan, bringing in Stephen Cardullo and Mike Gedman to put the visitors ahead for the first time at 2-1. A Chris Edmondson double followed by a Cardullo single gave Rockland a 3-1 lead in the third, but Quebec would answer quickly in the bottom half.

Sebastian Boucher's single brought in Jonathan Malo to bring the Capitales to within one, with Josue Peley bringing in Willoughby on a grounder to deadlock the score at 3-3.

A rare scoreless fourth inning would give way to the Boulders retaking the lead in the top of the fifth. Jerod Edmondson led off with a double and came around on Danny Bomback's one-out double. Bomback would score on a Mike Gedman grounder to give his squad a 5-3 lead.

Boucher would stay hot, with his solo two-out homer in the bottom half bringing the Caps to within 5-4, but Rob Kelly would answer in the sixth, sending reliever Eduardo Nunez' first pitch out of the park for his first professional homer to stake the visitors to a 6-4 margin.

Again, the defending champs would not go quietly, as Jean-Luc Blaquiere's RBI double brought his squad back to within one, though Popham would leave with that 6-5 lead after battling through six tough innings.

Alex Kreis emerged from the Boulders pen to work the seventh, having not allowed an earned run in 16.1 innings of work this season. That would change in one swing of the bat, as Boucher hit a 3-2 offering out for his fourth hit and second homer of the night, tying the score at 6-6.

Rockland would take the lead for good in the eighth, starting with Nunez walking Kelly to lead off. Boulders manager Jamie Keefe opted to use Jaren Matthews to pinch run, and that move would pay dividends. Matthews would advance on a Nick DelGuidace sacrifice and come around to score the deciding marker on Willoughby's error.

Garrett Johnson, who finished the eighth inning for Kreis, retired the first batter in the ninth before giving way to Fuqua, who retired the final two batters, leaving Boucher in the on-deck circle, to earn his seventh save of the season with Kries improving to 2-0 in picking up the win.

Two games remain in the series, with the squads returning to action at Stade Municipal tomorrowbefore wrapping things up Wednesday, with both games starting at 7:05 pm. The Boulders will then return to Provident Bank Park to start a five-game series against Trois-Rivieres, beginning with a twin-bill on Thursday at 5:00 pm. For tickets or more information, contact the box office, call 845-364-0009, or purchase online at our tickets page.