THUNDER BAY – Jordan Bach is the hottest hitter in the Northwoods League.
Two nights after being name the league’s hitter of the night, following a 5-for-5, five RBI performance, Bach was at it again on Saturday night.
The Thunder Bay Border Cats right-fielder went 2-for-4 with a fifth-inning grand slam and five more runs batted in, leading his team to a 5-2 road win over the Eau Claire Express.
For the season, Bach is now hitting .389 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 14 games. He’s fifth in average, fourth in RBI and leads all NWL hitters with five home runs.
His latest blast turned around a game in which the Express scored single runs in the first and second innings, taking an early 2-0 lead.
Eau Claire starter Walker Retz had been sailing along until that point, but found himself in trouble in the fifth, allowing a leadoff single to Corey Morro, hitting Kael Babin and walking Manny Alberto to load the bases.
Bach took a strike, then slammed the ball out of the park, sailing it over the right-field wall, giving the Cats a 5-2 lead.
Neither team was able to put any runs on the board from that point on.
Bach’s blast chased Retz from the game, his final line reading five runs allowed on two hits and three walks.
Makaio Cisneros got the start for Thunder Bay and pitched three innings, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks.
Carter Wall, who took over to start the fourth, grabbed the win, improving to 2-0 while not allowing a hit over three innings. Jackson Irwin and Jackson Hohensee finished off the Express, maintaining the hit-less approach of their predecessor, Wall.
Hohensee was credited with a one-inning save, his fourth of the season.
The two teams meet again on Sunday in Eau Claire.
