DULUTH – The Thunder Bay Border Cats are causing the Duluth Huskies no end of grief this season.
The Border Cats downed Duluth 9-3 on Thursday night, beating the first-place Huskies for the third straight night, further delaying their cross-border rival’s bid to clinch the second-half title in the Northwoods League’s Great Plains East Division.
The win clinched the Superior Cup, given to the team that wins the season series between the two teams.
Thunder Bay also kept its playoff hopes alive, pulling to within a game of .500 at 13-14, the team climbing to within 4.5 games of top spot, with nine games to go.
The Huskies lead in the division dropped to just 2.5 games, after second-place Eau Claire, who downed Rochester 8-2 on Thursday, winning for the third time in four outings. Their magic number remained at six for a second straight night.
Starter Ethan Froud held the Huskies hitters at bay for six innings, allowing just two runs on two hits and four walks, striking out four.
Jeremy Sheffield, Caleb Watkins and Corey Morro each had two RBI nights for Thunder Bay, and the bottom four in the lineup went 6-for-13 with four driven in and seven runs scored – also drawing five walks between them.
Paul Contreras was 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and a pair of RBIs for Duluth, who scored two in the ninth to cut the Thunder Bay lead from seven to five.
The Border Cats outhit the Huskies 10 to 5.
Thunder Bay, winners of six of the seven games the two teams have played this season. The teams will meet again at Wade Stadium on Friday night.
