THUNDER BAY – The long-ball kept the Waterloo Bucks in the game, but it was a two-out, seeing-eye single that delivered the win.
Marcus Heusohn lined a shot between short and third on Wednesday night, breaking a 6-6 tie with the Thunder Bay Border Cats, the Bucks going on to edge their hosts 8-6, salvaging a split of their four-game series at Port Arthur Stadium.
It’s also evened both teams’ second-half record at 1-1.
Waterloo’s Jake Bechtel hit two of the Bucks three two-run homers in the contest. The first came in the opening inning, after Thunder Bay starter Ethan Minaker, making his Border Cats debut, struck out the first two batters he faced.
He walked Heusohn and Bechtel made Minaker pay, driving the ball off the evergreen trees behind the left-field fence.
The Border Cats got one back in the second, then scored three times in the third to take their first lead of the night.
Manny Alberto doubled to right, scoring Hayden Stringfellow, who took over after Jacob Gillis left with a leg injury after reaching on an error. Jeremy Sheffield walked and a double steal put runners on second and third.
Both scored on a throwing error by Waterloo catcher Luca Perriello, Sheffileld racing 180 feet from second, sliding headfirst into home to avoid a tag that wasn’t coming.
Minaker retired Ethan Rossi to open the fourth, but Parker Sweeney singled and this time it was Jake Slade who pounced, barrelling it over the fence in centre, tying the game 4-4 with a single swing.
Bucks starter Logan Boenker hit the showers after three innings, having given up four runs – just one of them earned – on three hits and a pair of walks and the Cats were quick to get to reliever Kai Purday-Bruton.
Calvin Warrillow led off with a walk to start the fourth and newcomer Devon Smith advanced him to third with a double to right. He’d later score on a bases loaded walk, with Hayen Stringfellow at the dish.
Bracken Rice took over to start the seventh, the Cats up 6-4, and it took just two batters before the game was tied all over again.
With Heusohn on first, Bechtel drilled his second homer of the night, and sixth of the season.
“I got to 3-0 and I looked over a skip and he gave me the green light,” Bechtel said. “I said, why not? If I get my pitch just hit it hard. Luckily I got my pitch and here we are.”
Carson Priebe took over on the mound to start the eighth and retired Perriello to open the frame. Owen Ross singled and then, with two outs, Larry Edwards was hit by a pitch and Heusohn, the NWL’s all-time walk leader, drove the ball into left for what proved to be the game-winning run.
Edwards then scored on a wild pitch to give the Bucks a two-run cushion.
Relievers Luke Riggs and Brady Baur held the Cats to just one hit over four innings out of the bullpen and Tyler Glowacki finished the Cats off in the ninth, a one-out walk to Manny Alberto the only blemish on his card.
Getting out of Thunder Bay with two wins in four games was huge, Bechtel said.
“They’ve got a lot of great ballplayers out there and it could be either team any night … It was just kind of back-and-forth, so it was a lot of fun,” he said.
The Cats hit the road on Thursday for a two-game set in La Crosse against the first-half champion Loggers.
