THUNDER BAY – Opposing pitchers might want to think twice before intentionally walking someone to get to test their fate with Brendan Dougherty.
The Border Cats third baseman slashed a two-out, game-winning single to right with two outs in the ninth inning off closer Naithen Dewsnap of the first-place Mankato Moondogs, capping a come-from-behind 8-7 triumph, the team’s first game heading out of the all-star break.
“I just knew I had a big role to play. I had to help the team win and just tried to focus on staying inside the baseball, especially with the submarine guy (pitching). I just tried to shoot a line drive to the left side and luckily I got that outside pitch to do so,” said the Bradley University product.
“I thought (the left-fielder) was going to dive and make a play at it. Thankfully it was close to the line and had a little lefty spin on it and got away from him.”
The hit, Dougherty’s third of the night, reinforced Border Cats manager Mitch Feller’s decision to insert him in the two-hole, despite a paltry .219 batting average entering play on Thursday night.
“Him hitting at the top of the lineup has been a great thing for us, whenever we were able to get a chance to get him up there,” Feller said.
“He’s just a solid guy who knows what his approach is going to be and if teams are going to start working around a guy like Andy Weber, if you’ve got a guy like Dougherty behind him it’s going to be a tough decision who to go with.”
It was light-hitting catcher Nick Ciandro who earlier in the inning knotted the score 7-7, driving home Jean-Francois Garon, who reached on an infield single, took second on an errant throw and third on a Colton Thomas ground out.
“It was awesome. We got down early, but we kept fighting. It was a good break and we came back ready,” Ciandro said.
After the Cats took a 6-5 lead in the eighth on Noah Strohl’s second RBI single of the night, Logan Busch responded for Mankato in the ninth, ripping a double off Thunder Bay closer Evan Johnson that scored Jake Shepski and Rees Rua, giving the visitors a 7-6 advantage, to the disappointment of the 1,267 in attendance at Port Arthur Stadium.
Thunder Bay starter Blaze Bohall was effective in five innings of work, giving up three runs – just one earned – on six hits and a walk, leaving with a 4-3 lead after his offence scored three in the fourth, chasing Mankato pitcher Tyler Leslie.
Ciandro doubled home the first run, Weber singled home the second and Dougherty capped the rally, singling home Ciandro.
But the lead was short-lived, the Moondogs (9-4) jumping all over reliever Seth Rosenberg in the sixth, Jake Ortega and Daniel Amaral with run-scoring singles to put Mankato up 5-4.
The Cats (5-7) struck back in the seventh, Noah Strohl plating Kevin Biondich with a double off Moondogs reliever Matt Young to tie the game.
