The Thunder Bay Border Cats started the second half of the Northwoods League season the same way they did the first – with a loss.
A five-run eighth inning, capped by a two-out, two-run shot off the bat of Jason Vosler, made things interesting down the stretch.
But Jess Amadee retired the side in order in the ninth to secure the 6-5 triumph, handing the Border Cats their third straight defeat.
“The pitching did a very good job. They had a bad first inning, but besides that, they did a pretty good job. I’ve got to give credit to the starter on that team. He did a good job limiting us,” said Vosler, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI.
That’s Kahana Neal Vosler was referring to, the Mankato righty who two-hit the Cats through seven shutout innings, before giving way to Jesse Harbin to start the eighth.
Border Cats manager Dan Holcomb, though unhappy with his hitters first seven innings against a pitcher not blessed with a lot of velocity, nonetheless liked the way they kept fighting, torching Harbin for five runs on four hits and a walk.
It’s a sign of things he’d like to see continue in the second-half.
“It was close. The offence did it again, scoring five runs late. But we’ve still got to be able to make an adjustment against their pitcher. That’s kind of been the tale of slow pitchers for us. We’re not making the adjustment to the seventh, eighth and ninth,” Holcomb said.
“Our offence kept us in it. We actually pitched pretty well. But we’ve got to be able to keep multiple runs off the board.”
Cats starter Caleb Smith, who only lasted two innings in his previous start, put Thunder Bay in a 3-0 first-inning hole, the key hit a Matt Wollenzin double that scored a pair.
Smith settled down in the second and third, but ran into trouble again in the fourth, when the Moon Dogs struck for two more, Quinnton Mack scoring on a Hibraim Cordova single, Cordova on a wild pitch.
Cats reliever Zach Thiac gave up the eventual winning run in the seventh, a Mack single scoring former Cat Matt Jones.
Dylan Becker kept the Border Cats hopes alive in the eighth, singling home Dylan Goodwin and Tyler Stetson to cut the Mankato lead to 6-2. Cory Kay scored on a Tyler Duplantis single to pull Thunder Bay within three, before Vosler stepped to the plate and launched the ball over the right-field wall.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit, but I’ve been struggling against the guys with lesser velocity. That first guy wasn’t throwing that hard, so I was struggling against him. But when (Harbin) came in I was pretty confident. I got a good pitch to hit, saw it well, and hit it well,” Vosler said.
It wasn’t the start the Cats wanted for the second half, but they’re ready to put Game 1 behind them and focus on the rest of the season.
“We’ve got 34 games left. I don’t think one bad game is going to define the rest of the second half. We’ve got a lot of new pitchers in, so I think we’re looking bright for the second half.
Claw marks: Attendance was 773 ... The Border Cats are now 13-23 overall ... With six homeruns, Tyler Duplantis is two off the team record, set by Dan Soukup in 2003, the franchise's first season ... Vosler's homerun was his fourth of the campaign.
