THUNDER BAY – A four-run first inning was more than enough for the Rochester Honkers to send the Thunder Bay Border Cats to their fourth loss in six games to open the second half of the Northwoods League season.
The Honkers jumped all over Cats starter John McDonald, who was chased after 36 pitches, allowing four runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batsman.
Maddox Haley doubled with one on and one out to put runners on second and third and McDonald hit Joel Roberts to load the bases.
A walk to Tommy Eisenstat resulted in the first run of the game. Payton Knowles followed with a run-scoring single, Angel Cortez drove in the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly and Keegan Landis singled in one more.
The Border Cats got two back in the bottom of the first, but a costly Trey Fikes double play put an end to the momentum, after Thunder Bay loaded the bases with no outs.
Corey Morro led off with a single, took third on Tyrus Hall’s double and scored on a Manny Alberto double.
Ayden Hanley took first on a walk, but Fikes rolled a grounder to second that scored a run but left Alberto on third with two outs.
The Border Cats got another run on Rochester starter Beau Alazaus, but couldn’t crack the Rochester pitcher any further.
Alazaus pitched six innings of six-hit ball, walking one and striking out two before giving way to Joseph Steventon, who allowed two hits and no runs the rest of the way.
The Cats used eight pitchers on the day. Jacob Miller, normally a catcher, allowed three runs in the eighth, all unearned after a two-out error by Alberto at short.
Thunder Bay hits the road on Monday to start a six-game road trip that takes them to Eau Claire, Duluth and La Crosse.
