EAU CLAIRE, Wisc. – The road isn’t proving to be a friendly place for the Thunder Bay Border Cats.
Fresh off a three-day Northwoods League all-star break, in the midst of an unprecedented 14-game road trip to accommodate the Women’s Baseball World Cup, the Cats on Thursday dropped their fourth game in five outings away from the confines of Port Arthur Stadium, falling 10-8 to the Eau Claire Express.
The Express scored three times in the bottom of the 10th to pull out the win, the second time on the current trip the Cats were walked off in the final inning.
Down 8-7 with one out in the 10th, Jake Busson smashed his second home run of the night to earn Eau Claire a two-run triumph, with Kobe Allen on the mound for Thunder Bay.
Busson, the Express’ No. 7 hitter, was joined by No. 8 hitter Blake Brady in the two-homer parade.
Keegan Garis homered and drove in a pair. Garret Sloan also went deep.
The Cats trailed 6-3 after four innings, but battled back to tie the game 7-7 with a three-run eighth.
Sam Stem had an RBI double and Riley Iffrig a run-scoring single in the frame. Thomas Cooper tied things up with a sacrifice fly against Eau Claire reliever Carl Cano, who came in to face him, replacing reliever Nick Fitzanko.
Trent Jordan got the start for Thunder Bay, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks. Troy McLeese and Nick Veselinovic also threw for the Border Cats. Allen (0-2) took the loss.
Evan Esch went six innings on the bump for Eau Claire, tagged four four runs on six hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven. Cano earned the win.
Thanks to Duluth (11-9) falling 6-3 to the Minnesota Mud Puppies, the Border Cats (12-9) are still clinging to a half-game lead in the Great Plains East Division. Waterloo is a game back at 11-10.
