RICHMOND – When Richmond side-winding lefty pitcher Mitch Couturier came to the mound in the third inning, the situation was bleak.

The Bobcats trailed Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy, 6-1, and Flyers flame-thrower Anders Jonsson showed no signs of allowing the hosts to mount any sort of rally through five frames.

But Couturier’s efforts – five shutout innings, no runs, two hits, two walks – were rewarded as Richmond scored three runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh for a walk-off 7-6 victory.

The Bobcats improved to 5-3, while the Flyers fell to 2-7, one of those wins coming way back on April 18 against Richmond, 4-2.

“To get down, then come back while keeping our composure, and getting great relief pitching from Mitchell with a team that just doesn’t quit, this win was icing on the cake,” said Richmond coach Ryan Gardner, whose Bobcats are back in action on Saturday with an East-West Conference home doubleheader with Vinalhaven/North Haven (11 a.m.).

The tide turned in the sixth. An inning earlier, Jonsson threw just four pitches and had permitted just two hits. But Danny Stewart opened the sixth by working a seven-pitch walk. With one out, Chance Taylor launched his second RBI double of the game, followed by an Adam Beaulieu triple to right field. Beaulieu scored on a wild pitch to draw the Bobcats to 6-4, and a walk to Ben Gardner ended Jonsson’s day (5 1/3 innings, four hits, four runs, seven strikeouts, two walks, two hit batters), with Will Jackson coming on in relief.

Jackson stranded two runners in the sixth, but there was no stopping Richmond in the seventh. With one out, Stewart (2-for-3, two runs scored) and Justin Vachon singled. An error on a Taylor ground ball loaded the bases, and Beaulieu delivered again, this time with a two-run game-tying double that landed in nearly the identical spot as his triple had an inning earlier.

“When I hit it, I thought (Flyers right fielder Miles Anderson) would catch it, but it hit in the same spot and worked out for us,” said Beaulieu.

With Taylor representing the winning run at third base, Ben Gardner came through, ripping a game-winning single on the ninth pitch of his at-bat to win it.

Coach Gardner felt his team’s ability to work the count late in the game paid dividends.

“We gave (Jonsson) a four-pitch inning. Then we started doing things a bit different, something that we had to do. You can’t allow a pitcher to have an inning where he throws under 10 pitches,” Ryan Gardner said.

“I am so proud of this team. This is huge for us. We lost to them, so to beat them today is great for us,” added Beaulieu.

Early in the game it appeared that Waynflete/NYA was going to cruise to an easy win. Stewart issued walks to Liam Slocomb and Jackson to begin the game, followed by a long two-run double by Luke Josephson for a quick 2-0 Flyer lead. Jonsson reached on an infield single and stole second, and a pair of ground-ball RBIs gave the visitors a 4-0 lead.

In the second, the Flyers added a pair of runs on four walks, an error and three wild pitches for a 6-0 edge. Stewart, who threw 42 balls on 62 pitches, walked the leadoff hitter in the third to end his outing.

Couturier came on and settled his team down.

“I haven’t pitched a lot, just the second time this season, and I was just trying to pound the zone,” Couturier said. “I trust all the guys behind me and they made the plays. We kept them shut down.”

With the loss of several key pieces from last year’s State Class D champion team, it took a bit of time for Richmond to find its rhythm.

“We have some pieces, some young kids who love to play the game. I would take any one of these 11 players on this team,” the Richmond coach said.

Beaulieu, Stewart and Taylor each had two hits in the win, while Jonsson was 2-for-3 with a walk for the Flyers.

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