THUNDER BAY -- In the first official home opener in two years, the Thunder Bay Border Cats gave their fans a treat Saturday night.
1,154 fans were in attendance to witness the Cats down the Mankato Moon Dogs 5-2.
“Hopefully this sets the bar,” manager Mitch Feller said. “We got a bunch of brand new guys… and once we get these guys to establish the offense and pitching staff this team will take off.”
It took the Border Cats until the fifth inning to record their first hit, but Billy Cook led off the frame with a double to deep left.
It looked as though they would leave Cook stranded on third with two outs when Gunner Hellstrom sent a routine ground ball to Moondogs’ shortstop Nick Novak. However, Novak fired the ball over the head of the first basemen, allowing Cook to score.
Nick Conti sent an RBI triple off the wall in left field in the next at bat, and came around to score after a Trent Athmann RBI single gave the Cats a 4-2 lead.
“You always have to capitalize on other people’s mistakes,” Feller said. “Today we got that momentum in our favour and never looked back.”
The Cats added a run in the sixth inning on a double down the left field line from Brady Gulakowski.
From there, the pitching kept the lead safe.
Relief pitcher Drew Gooch got the win after providing four solid innings in relief to settle the Mankato bats. Starter Connor Wood was pulled to begin the fourth inning.
“Coach came over and said I was going to get in,” said Gooch, a native of Argyle, Texas who played his first game at Port Arthur Stadium.
“I did not think it would be that soon. But to have that run support and have the defense make all the plays they needed. That was huge.”
Pitcher Andrew Gross finished off the final two frames, and struck out the side to close out the game.
Billy Cook was the top offensive player for the Cats, providing a double, triple, and two walks.
Their record now sits at 2-3, and will face Mankato Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
