Cats split twinbill

The Thunder Bay Border Cats got a win to start their day on Thursday.

But they probably wish they’d ignored the advice of Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, and not played the second half of their doubleheader against the Rochester Honkers.

Casey Selsor drove home the winning run in the ninth inning of the opener, giving the Cats Brad Delatte (2-1) a 4-3 win, but Rochester’s 11-run first inning derailed any thoughts of a sweep in the night-cap.

The outburst, which came at the expense of starter Logan Birr who failed to record an out, and newcomer James Kimsey, led to a 13-2 loss.

Birr allowed the first six batters he faced to reach, while Kimsey made an error, gave up a single and suffered an error by shortstop Brett Kay before forcing a grounder by leadoff hitter Tony Kemp to record the Cats first out of the game.

Johnny Coy then blasted a grand slam to finish the damage and put this one away early.
Ino Patron scored the first Cats run in the sixth, coming home on a David Fallon triple. Fallon then scored on a Selsor single.

Kevin Johnson (2-1) picked up the win for the Honkers, who Thunder Bay will play on the road on Friday night.

The game was shortened to seven innings to accommodate the first game of the doubleheader, which picked up in the fourth inning after being rained out on Wednesday.

It was Birr’s second loss in two decisions.