THUNDER BAY – Tenacity, thy name is Thunder Bay Border Cats.
The Northwoods League team watched an early 4-2 lead disappear on Sunday in Eau Claire, but found the strength to regain the lead, thanks to scoring a pair of runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth, and escaped a one-out, bases loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth to pull out an 8-7 win over the Eau Claire Express.
Jordan Bach, the Cats right-fielder, continued his hot-hitting ways, delivering a 3-for-5 five performance that resulted in another three runs batted in, giving him 13 RBI in his last three outings.
The Ladner, B.C. native has a four-game hitting streak and has raised his batting average to .407. He’s tied for the Northwoods League lead with five home runs, his batting ranks fourth and his 21 RBIs are also fourth.
It was Manny Alberto and Trey Fikes who got things going for Thunder Bay in the first. Alberto singled home Greg LaChance to start the scoring and Fikes followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Ty Hamilton from third.
The host Express scored a pair of unearned runs against Thunder Bay starter Matt Sargeant in the bottom half of the inning, but the Border Cats and Bach responded in the second, Bach singling to left off Eau Claire starter Josh Glaser, giving the visitors a 4-2 lead.
It stood until the fourth, when the Express got to reliever Owen Miller, Thunder Bay’s fourth pitcher of the afternoon.
Matthew Cormier delivered the big blow, a two-run double, representing half of the four runs the Express would score in the inning, flipping the score and giving them a 6-4 lead.
Bach picked up his third RBI of the day, greeting Eau Claire reliever Kenneth Fistler with a bases-loaded single to left. LaChance then scored on a wild pitch, evening the game at six runs apiece.
A passed ball in the eighth allowed Camden Tanner to scamper home with the go-ahead run and LaChance scored his third run of the day on a Sheffield ground out.
The Express loaded the bases with one out in the ninth off Cats reliever Owen Tomson, who issued a run-scoring walk to J.J. Moran before striking out Cormier and grabbing a ground ball off the bat of Ian Gaunzon and firing to first to retire the side and preserve the win, the Cats second straight.
Ty Talbert, who tossed three innings of no-hit relief, earned the win, improving to 2-1. Fistler (0-2) took the loss.
The Border Cats (11-8) return home on Monday to face the La Crosse Loggers. John McDonald is expected to get the start for Thunder Bay, with Jace Miner slated to go for the Loggers (15-5), who are tied for top spot in the Great Plains East with Waterloo, both teams 3.5 games ahead of Thunder Bay.
Game time is 6:35 p.m.
