THUNDER BAY – Spending the first three weeks of their campaign away from home created a hole the Thunder Bay Border Cats could never quite dig their way out.
Already facing one of the toughest travel schedules in the Northwoods League, the Border Cats were subjected to an 18-game road trip to open the season with Port Arthur Stadium not in playable condition.
When the Thunder Bay club stepped onto their home field for the first time in 2017, the first half of the season was already lost with the team sporting a 6-12 mark.
It’s hard to recover with a schedule that doesn’t provide opportunity for extended breaks, said general manager Dan Grant, a league alum who played for the Border Cats during the inaugural 2003 campaign.
“I know what it’s like to be on the road for a long time. You don’t really remember what day it is,” Grant said.
“Essentially we were really hoping for .500 ball, if we had come back 9-9 it would have been something amazing. It’s just a hard grind. It’s a hard grind to do this day in and day out.”
Thunder Bay could not get back on track throughout the rest of the 72-game summer circuit, as the team closed out the campaign in the cellar of the North Division with a 27-43 record after a 4-3 defeat to the playoff-bound Willmar Stingers on Sunday.
The Border Cats, a franchise which last qualified for postseason play nearly a decade ago in 2008, dropped seven of the final 10 contests as they failed to enter the chase for a playoff spot and closed the second half at 14-21.
“I think it would have been more fun if we were in the race, definitely, but I don’t think we’re disappointed,” said slugger Noah Stroll, who led Thunder Bay offensively with 44 runs batted in.
“I think we’ve accomplished a lot. We overcame a lot of little bumps we had throughout the year.”
Momentum was fleeting on the few chances the club appeared poised to get back in contention, Grant said.
“There were points in the second half where we kind of looked like we were going to hit a run,” Grant said. “Then something would happen with an injury or we went on another eight-game road trip.”
Shortstop Andy Weber, who also suited up in both the league’s All-Star Game and Major League Dreams Showcase, was the squad’s lone representative on the postseason all-star team. The University of Virginia product, back in Thunder Bay for his second summer, made his impact felt not only on the field with his steady defensive play but leadership away from the diamond.
“He was Mr. Consistent as soon as he stepped foot on the field. He proved he was an all-star,” manager Mitch Feller said.
“He’s someone consistently showing up every single day. You love to have guys when you write their name on the lineup card and they want to be out there. One day I tried giving him a day off and he almost fought me to get back in the lineup.”
Playing in front of 1,180 fans on Sunday, the Border Cats closed the campaign with an average attendance of about 960 in games played at Port Arthur Stadium, a significant improvement from the 820 the previous year.
On the field the team had six more wins than in 2016, progress on both fronts the organization wants to carry forward.
“People came out and the fans really got behind us and supported us,” Grant said. “I think the momentum is there. There are a lot of people really enthusiastic. We already have new season ticketholders for next year.”
