LA CROSSE, Wisc. – A missed opportunity came back to haunt the Thunder Bay Border Cats.
In baseball, it usually does.
The Northwoods League team, looking to solidify its lead atop the Great Plains East Division, loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth inning on Sunday evening, clinging to a hard-fought one-run lead over the host La Crosse Loggers.
However, they came up empty and the Loggers took advantage in their turn at bat, Ben Zeigler-Namoa smashing a Kannon Karr offering to deep centre, plating the tying and winning run.
Closer Tony Pluta shut the door on the Cats in the ninth, retiring the side in order to preserve the 5-4 win and the four-game series split.
The Border Cats grabbed the first lead of the game in the second, Brayden Kuriger hitting his first homerun of the season off Loggers starter Austin Smith.
Thunder Bay held the lead until the fourth, when La Crosse finally got to Cats starter Matthew Tippie, the key blows coming with two outs. Michael Dixon II doubled home Troy LaNeve to tie the game. Then, with the bases loaded, Tippie hit Jordan Donahue, scoring Seth Cox with the go-ahead run, the Loggers taking a 2-1 lead, while sending the Border Cats hurler to the showers, having given up three runs in 3.2 innings of work.
The Border Cats struck back with two of their own to retake the lead in the top of the fifth.
Trey Lewis walked to open the inning and La Crosse swapped pitchers, bringing in Sam Hart from the bullpen. He promptly hit Kuriger and, one out later, walked Jonah Sutton to load the bases.
Carter Allen and Zane Skansi drew bases loaded walks and the Cats took a 3-2 advantage, but the Loggers struck back quickly in the bottom half of the inning, thanks to another two-out rally. Peyton Fosher walked Gabe D’Arcy, who stole second and scored off a single by Cox.
Thunder Bay retook the lead on a three-base throwing error by Brayden Sanders that allowed Sutton to score all the way from first. But with one out and Carter Allen standing on third, Patrick Engskov and Zane Skansi were unable to deliver, and the Border Cats settled for a 4-3 lead.
The win went to Pluta (1-1) and the loss to Karr (1-1).
The Cats (14-10), dropped into a tie for first place with the Eau Claire Express (15-11), but lead by .006 in the winning percentage column. Thunder Bay and Eau Claire will meet up on Monday and Tuesday in Wisconsin, the head back to Port Arthur Stadium on Wednesday for the first of two in Thunder Bay.
