THUNDER BAY – The pitching cavalry is coming.
But until it rides into to town to rescue the Thunder Bay Border Cats, the Northwoods League team is going to have to make due with a depleted bullpen and the occasional position player filling in on an emergency basis.
On Friday night, in a 9-6 loss, it was Gabriel Lozada and Billy Cook who got the call from manager Mitch Feller, trying to bridge the gap between starter Ben Gilliland, who left after four, and the back end of the bullpen, decimated by injuries and early departures.
The Cats (9-12) entered play Friday night against the La Crosse Loggers at Port Arthur Stadium with just 11 pitchers on the roster, tired out from playing their fourth game in three days, with an extra inning affair thrown in to boot.
Sometimes it works bringing in position players and sometimes it doesn’t, said first-year Thunder Bay manager Mitch Feller, who said a number of replacement pitchers are on thier way.
“In major league baseball, it’s usually a blowout, they’re losing 12-2 and they just don’t want to burn out arms,” Feller said. “We’re having to do it when it’s 3-3 in the fifth inning because our starter gives us all he can give us and it just happened to not go deep tonight.
“We’re going to get the guys and they’re just going out there and throwing stuff up against the wall and hoping it sticks. Some innings it sticks really well. Some innings you see it falling off the wall pretty good and it starts getting away from us.”
Take Lozada, an outfielder by trade.
The University of Miami product hit the first two batters he faced in the fifth, his team trailing 3-2 at the time. A wild pitch advanced the runners 90 feet, then Ryan Mantle laced a double to the gap to score both runners, the Loggers increasing their lead to 5-2.
The Border Cats, who only managed six hits on the night, got one back in the bottom of the inning off La Crosse starter Hunter Davis, Andy Weber singling home Dayne Sommer.
The teams traded runs in the sixth, Lozada giving way to Cook to start the seventh. Cook, who recorded two outs in Thursday’s series-opening win, was solid again in two innings of work, allowing just a single walk.
It kept the Border Cats within reach and initially they made the most of the opportunity.
Trailing 6-4 in the ninth and closer Grant Ford taking over on the mound for the Loggers, Colton Thomas and Mark Venice drew back-to-back walks to open the inning.
Sommer laid down a bunt, which Ford dove to field, then threw the ball into right-field, allowing both runners to sprint home, tying the game 6-6. But pinch runner Blaze Bohall would move no further than second and the game headed to the 10th.
Southpaw Brady Hill took over for the home side and recorded the first out. It went downhill from there.
Kennie Taylor singled and Jorge Guiterrez walked, Taylor then coming home on Dave Villar’s RBI single. Jake Hirabayashi lifted a sacrifice fly to centre to plate Guiterrez and Villar scored on Jeremy Ydens’ double, to conclude the scoring.
Thunder Bay brought the tying run to the plate with back-to-back one-out walks by Ford, but Nick CIandro popped out to first to end the game.
Cat tracks: Attendance was 1,049 for the second straight night.
