Brown delivers

Seven shutout innings, seven strikeouts, two double plays and a triple play gave local pitcher Eric Brown (1-0) both the win and title of player of the game Saturday night at Port Arthur Stadium.

The Thunder Bay-native pitched in his first game with the Border Cats (3-0) and helped the team come to a 5-3 win over defending league champions the Rochester Honkers (2-2). Although Brown was stepping onto the Border Cats mound for the first time, he said he didn’t feel any extra nervousness.

"Every game there are some nerves, but you just have to take that into account and get prepared for it," Brown said. "I’m just really excited to be pitching in my hometown, home-park and for the hometown team. It turned out great too, so it was a lot of fun."

The 6-foot-1 pitcher certainly appeared prepared as he made quick work of Rochester’s first three batters, retiring all of them after only six pitches. Brown remained efficient throughout most of the game, keeping his pitch count low through most innings and adding seven strikeouts to his record.

While Brown kept his nerves in check on the mound, there were others trying to keep their own in check in the stands.

"Everyone was very happy," said Brown’s father, Bruce Brown. "I’m sure everyone was a little nervous but they didn’t show it too much. I always have a little anxiety, but surprisingly I think I was a little less anxious today than I normally am.

Brown’s mother, two grandmothers and a grandfather joined his father in the stands Saturday night. Being able to play with the hometown team means that Brown’s family will be able to see him play a lot more often than they normally do, said Bruce Brown.

"I get to see maybe one series a year, and he’s pitching one game in one of those series," he said.

When Brown wasn’t collecting strikeouts Saturday, his Border Cats defence was doing its job. The Cats turned two double plays while Brown was at the mound, and assembled a triple play in the second when shortstop Bret Doe snagged a Rochester ball out of the air, stepped on second and quickly threw to first for the two forced outs.

"They hit a few balls hard and my defence made some great plays behind me," Brown said. "It’s not everyday that you get a triple play and there were some big double plays."

The Honkers out hit the Cats 10-7, but the same defensive squad that turned a triple play refused for eight innings to allow Rochester batters to reach home plate.

That defensive discipline and strong pitching is what Cats’ manager Mike Steed says a championship-worthy team needs.

"I stressed to this team, and I knew coming in when I was recruiting guys, that pitching and defence is huge," Steed said. "I’m a pitching guy and obviously that’s first and foremost what I look for when I look to build a championship team, and obviously the guys are showing it. Both starters prior to Eric (Brown) have done well and Eric just followed suit."

The Honkers entered the top of the ninth inning without a run on the scoreboard. That didn’t stop the Rochester squad from attempting to assemble a late game rally that rattled pitcher Nathan Kennedy away from collecting his first save.

Kennedy collected a strikeout, but loaded the bases early after allowing three singles. A walk then forced in Rocherster’s first run. The pitcher provided the Cats with a second out, but traded a run for it and later hit a batter with a pitch to load the bases again.

Another hit brought in another run for Rochester and sent Drew Erwin in to replace Kennedy.

Erwin, already collecting two successful saves this season, earned the third out in front of a small 369-person crowd to keep the Border Cats undefeated.

The Cats offence delivered five runs, but did it on only seven hits.

Batters often found success by capitalizing on Rochester’s mistakes. Tyler Pryor did exactly that when he made it to second on a seventh inning double. He stole both third and home after reacting quickly to a pair of wild pitches.

"We’re slowly coming around offensively," Steed said. "I think a lot of our outs were hard outs. I think we need to work a bit on our zone discipline because I think we kind of let the starter off the hook. We did swing at some balls … we can do a little better job."

The Border Cats will try and make it 4-0 as they get ready to face the Rochester Honkers for the second game of a two-game series at Port Arthur Stadium Sunday night. The game is scheduled to start a 5:05 p.m.