Sens Earn Comeback Win, Get Set for Playoffs

Having already clinched a playoff berth earlier in the day, the Harrisburg Senators didn't need a win against the Binghamton Mets on the final day of the regular season. But thanks to Josh Johnson's three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning, they scored a 6-5 comeback victory anyway. Johnson hit his fifth homer of the season with one out in the ninth, scoring Brad Coon and Stephen Lombardozzi, and sending the Sens to the playoffs with a win. The Senators finish the regular season with a 77-65 record, and head to Altoona for game one of their first-round series with the Curve starting Wednesday.

Binghamton (66-76) never trailed until the ninth inning on Monday, leading since the fourth, when a single run came across on a solo homer by Brahiam Maldonado. The B-Mets scored three more runs in the sixth, on an Eric Campbell RBI single and a two-run throwing error by the Sens defense. Heading into the seventh, the B-Mets led 4-0. The Sens then scored six unanswered runs, starting with a solo homer by Jhonatan Solano in the seventh. Michael Burgess and Ofilio Castro then each drove in a run in the eighth, with a groundout and a sacrifice fly respectively, and the Senators trailed just 4-3. Binghamton tacked on a run in the eighth, but Johnson's blast in the ninth put the Sens in front, and Cole Kimball held the B-Mets scoreless in the ninth to seal the victory.

Kimball (5-1) picked up the win for the Sens, as he pitched the final inning and a third. Reliever Roy Merritt (4-5) allowed Johnson's home run in the ninth for Binghamton, and took the blown save and the loss. The Sens were outhit 11-8 in the ballgame, but got two hits apiece from Johnson and Burgess. Solano, Coon, Edgardo Baez, and Devin Ivany each had one hit in the win.

The Senators open the 2010 playoffs on the road at Western Division champion Altoona, where their first-round series begins at 6:30 PM on Wednesday evening. The Sens first playoff home game is on Friday night at 7:00 PM, at Metro Bank Park. Tickets are still available for that and all home playoff games, and fans can contact the Senators box office to purchase them. The box office can be reached in person from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday, on the phone at 717-231-4444, or online at www.senatorsbaseball.com.