WILLMAR, Minn. – The Thunder Bay Border Cats loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but a pair of strikeouts later they were staring at a second straight defeat.
Willmar Stingers closer Nick Mears set down catcher Nick Ciandro and leadoff hitter Josh Norlin to snuff out the Cats comeback hopes on Wednesday night, preserving a 4-1 win for the home side, who improved to 2-0 on the season. The winless Cats slipped to 0-2.
The Stingers scored single runs in the first and second innings off Thunder Bay starter Blaze Bohall, then added two more in the third, Marcus McCorkle scoring Quincy McAfee on a triple, then coming home on a Nolan Bumstead groundout.
The Cats lone run came on a Jared McCunn solo shot in the fourth off Willmar starter Corey Binger, who went six strong to pick up the win.
