THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Border Cats are back above .500, but they’re out of the running for a first-half playoff spot.
The Cats, returning to Port Arthur Stadium on Saturday night after six nights on the road, easily handled the last-place Rochester Honkers 13-4
Unfortunately, the La Crosse Loggers didn’t do their part.
The Loggers, who would have had to have lost their final four games of the opening half, combined with four straight Border Cats triumphs. La Crosse, instead, downed the Eau Claire Express 7-3, ending Thunder Bay’s first-half hopes in the Northwoods League’s Great Plains East Division.
The Loggers, with 20 wins, can’t be caught by the Cats, who improved to 16-15, with just three games left in the opening half, which comes to a close on Tuesday.
Brody Chrisman, who helped spark an eight-run fourth, slicing a one-out, bases loaded double into the left-field corner that scored three, said despite the long odds after dropping seven of their past 10, there’s no quit in the Border Cats clubhouse.
“Nothing but respect to the boys and everything we’ve got going for us,” said the redshirt freshman from Purdue University.
“I don’t think there was a down mind that didn’t think we were capable of coming out there and doing great things. That’s just what we’re trying to do – focus on one game at a time, just enjoy it and play to the best of our ability.”
The Border Cats got to work early against Rochester starter Juju Thompson, who walked the first four batters he faced, a second run scoring on a Brayden Kuriger groundout to first. Thunder Bay added two more in the second in support of a very efficient Cole Poirrier, who needed just nine pitches in each of the first two innings, retiring the side in order in both.
He gave way to Shane Kearbey who kept the perfect streak going through the third, finally giving up a hit to leadoff hitter Calvin Reiss to open the Rochester fourth.
Reiss would later come around to score on a throwing error by catcher Duncan Mathews, trying to gun the Rochester runner down on an attempted steal of third. The throw bounced into the outfield.
Leading 5-1, the Border Cats exploded in the bottom of the fourth, sending 11 batters to the plate, eight of them scoring.
Two batters after Chrisman’s bases-clearing blow, leadoff hitter Lucas Terirlli, in his second at bat of the innings, smacked his second home run of the season, off of Rochester reliever Joey Craska, who was responsible for all eight runs, on five hits, two walks and a hit batsman.
Chrisman said he approached his at bat one pitch at a time.
“You just find a pitch you want to hit and drive it, hit the ball hard,” he said.
Terilli, who made six trips to the plate, scored three times, as did second baseman Zane Skansi, who reached base three times.
Terilli, Mathews and Kuriger each had two RBIs for Thunder Bay.
Mattie Thomas had the big blow for the Honkers, homering with one aboard off Kearbey in the sixth.
Carter Wall tossed three innings of shutout relief to earn the save. Kearbey (1-2) was credited with the win. Thompson (0-2) took the loss.
The Cats and Honkers play the second game of their four-game set on Sunday, with a special 7:35 p.m. start time to allow for a post-game fireworks show ahead of Monday’s Canada Day celebrations.
