THUNDER BAY – It only takes one bad inning to spoil a good baseball game.
For the Thunder Bay Border Cats on Thursday night, it was the fifth.
Mere minutes after Manny Alberto drove a two-run shot over the right-field fence, the Cats first home run of 2025, to take a 4-2 lead through four, things fell apart.
It was only one inning, but when all was said and done, the visiting Rochester Honkers had put four runs on the board, led by two and silenced the Thunder Bay bats the rest of the way to eke out a 6-5 win, evening both teams’ records at 2-2.
A hit batsman, back-to-back singles and an unfortunate error by Border Cats second baseman Corey Morro on a potential inning-ending double play chance kept the frame alive and the Honkers made the most of the opportunity.
Reliever Jimmy Cerha unleashed a wild pitch that scored Allan Camarillo and Drew Charney followed with a two-run single, breaking the 4-4 tie to give Rochester the lead for good.
It was a tough way to lose, said Thunder Bay manager Joe Ellison.
“That’s what it was. It was one bad inning … If you look back, a ground ball to second, he kicked it, and a hit batter to start that inning there. I think Jimmy was better than he was than the last time out. I think we’re gaining ground in a positive direction, but we need to put it all together and be consistent,” Eillison said.
Alberto said there no need to panic at this point, the team sitting at .500 four games into the season.
“The boys were playing well. We’re swinging it well and getting on base, doing our jobs as hitters,” Alberto said.
“It just comes down to some plays, but I think everyone played well and it was just a tough loss.”
Tyler Talbert got the start for Thunder Bay and put in a strong effort, albeit a shortened one. The Flower Mound, Texas native gave up runs in the first and third inning, but left after three tied 2-2, having given up three hits and three walks, striking out one.
His Rochester counterpart, Jacob Tostado, was spotted a 1-0 lead before he took the mound for the first time, but found trouble in the bottom of the first. He hit Kael Babin to open the inning, then Jordan Bach reached on an error by Camarillo, the Honkers shortstop.
A Camden Tanner groundout moved the runners up 90 feet.
Jeremy Sheffield grounded out to second to plate Babin and Trae Cassidy, coming off a 5-for-5 night, singled to give the Cats a 2-1 advantage.
Rochester found even ground in the third, thanks to Allan Cortez’s RBI double that scored Haley from first. Cortez then stole third, but was stranded.
Alberto said he was just looking for a pitch to hit when he stepped to the plate in the fourth with one out and Cassidy standing on second after a lead-off double.
“It was a 2-0 count and I was just trying to catch a barrel, hit something hard. He happened to hang a change-up there and I just caught a good barrel on it, put a good swing and good things happened,” Alberto said.
Down 6-4 in the fifth, the Border Cats got one back, Sheffield singling home Kael Babin, who singled to open the inning, chasing Tostado, who surrendered five-run on six hits and a walk.
The Honkers bullpen stymied the Thunder Bay bats from there on in. Bo Boettcher, who earned the win, allowed one hit in three-and-a-third and Jaren Ekkelboom picked up his first save of the season, giving up a single hit and a pair of walks to close things out.
The Cats and Honkers meet again on Friday night. Game time is 7:35 p.m., with a fireworks show planned for after the final pitch.
Attendance was 485.
