The Border Cats (14-18) will need a stronger showing in this season’s second half, after a split double header with rival Duluth Huskies (15-13) Monday night mathematically ended the team’s chances of clinching a first-half playoff berth.
The bats were asleep for the Border Cats in their first of two seven-inning games played at Port Arthur Stadium, which led to a 3-1 loss to the Huskies. The Cats only managed to collect one hit in the losing effort against the Huskies’ seven.
Connor Little (0-1) took the loss after struggling in the second inning and allowing Duluth batters to collect their three earned runs.
Misfortunes continued for the Border Cats early in the second seven-inning game of the night, but some fifth inning offence combined with a dramatic final inning rally gave the Thunder Bay club a 6-5 win and the double-header split.
"Physically, they’re all fine," said Border Cats manager Mike Steed of his team’s efforts so far this season. "Mentally, it’s trying to keep them going as the grind of the season starts to wear on them. We just need to win (these next) three series. We have a chance to do that tomorrow night against Duluth. That will give us the positive upswing to go against Rochester to start the second half."
Little remained in the game through five-and-two-third innings and thwarted Duluth’s efforts to add insurance runs in the first game. But without offensive support, the Huskies didn’t need insurance.
Fans were kept relatively silent as they watched the hitting drought continue into the night’s second game. That second game also featured disaster on the mound in the early innings as pitch-count rules sent the Cat’s starter, Paul Barton (0-3), and the team’s first reliever, Brad Delatte (0-2), back to the dugout after the second inning.
The bullpen became a revolving door and the Border Cats used six pitchers before the night was over. The sixth and final pitcher called upon was the team’s closer, Drew Erwin (1-0), who collected the win despite allowing Duluth to score a run after a wild pitch.
While Border Cats dealt with an active bullpen, Steed said it likely will not have a significant or lasting impact on the team’s upcoming games.
"We ran a lot of guys out there, but they didn’t’ throw a lot of pitches," Steed said. "As far as that goes, hopefully tomorrow we can get a big start … just use a couple of guys from the pen and that should give everyone a day off for rest and we should be OK."
The offence that dug the Cats out of their early hole came in the bottom of the fifth, when infielder Evan Mistich approached the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. Mistich turned that at-bat into a three-RBI triple.
"Our pitching staff put us in a hole in the last few outings early, and our hitters have had their back," Steed said.
Steed added that while his team doesn’t seem to string a lot of hits together each game, the offence often comes alive when its needed.
The winning run was scored against Duluth Huskies’ Jason Whalen (0-1), who stepped onto the mound against the Cats having not allowed a single run to score in the 14.2 innings he’s pitched for Duluth.
P.K. Kitamura scored the winning run after Sean Miller-Jones put the ball in play for a single.
The Border Cats continue their series against the Huskies Tuesday at Port Arthur Stadium. That game is scheduled to start at 6:35 p.m.
