A late rally came up narrowly short for the Thunder Bay Border Cats on Sunday evening.
A three-run bottom of the ninth, including a two-run dinger by Anthony Brocato, brought the Border Cats within striking distance but they still fell 6-5 to the Willmar Stingers at Tbaytel Park at Port Arthur Stadium.
The loss snaps a stretch where Thunder Bay (6-27) had picked up wins in four of their previous six games and resulted in a split of the four-game series with the Stingers (16-18).
After the Border Cats got on the board in the first, the Stingers took the lead with a three-run third inning, highlighted by a two-run hit from Greg Lambert.
The Stingers added a single in the fourth and then two more in the fifth to extend the margin.
The home side added one in the fifth and had already put a run across with two out in the final frame when Brocato crushed his fifth home run of the campaign over the left field fence.
The rally came to a screeching halt when the next batter, Shane Shepard, flew out to centre to end the contest.
Stingers pitcher Tyler Hanson (3-0) picked up the win, allowing only two runs over seven innings of work while striking out eight. Thunder Bay starter Shannon Broussard (0-1) was saddled with the loss, allowing six runs over five innings.
The Border Cats hit the road for a pair against each the Mankato MoonDogs and La Crosse Loggers before returning home on Friday to host the Waterloo Bucks.
