WILLMAR, Minn. -- The Thunder Bay Border Cats fell into an early hole on Saturday against the Willmar Stinger and the bullpen just kept digging it a little deeper trying to keep the team in the hunt.
A trio of Cats relievers were roughed up for 10 runs after taking over for all-star starter Jack Pineau, who left with two outs in the fourth innings, having given up a pair of runs on three hits and a walk.
The Stingers would go on to win 12-2, handing Thunder Bay its second straight defeat, dropping the team's second-half record to 5-14, buried in the Great Plains East division cellar.
Willmar (12-5), the front-runners in the Great Plains West, scored three in the fifth to double their lead to 6-0 and pulled away even further with five in the eighth, the Cats having cut the Stingers lead to 6-2 with a pair in the sixth.
Andrew Sojka and Kyle Payne homered for Willmar, Sojka off Pineau in the third, Payne's coming off Zack Reid in the eighth,.
Patrick Engskov and Trey Lewis scored the lone runs for Thunder Bay, both coming in on a Cole Ketzner single.
The Cats and Stingers wrap up their two-game set on Sunday, with Thunder Bay returning home for a pair against La Crosse, starting on Monday night.
