Offence was never the problem for the Thunder Bay Border Cats this summer.
Led by a 5-for-5, five RBI performance from newcomer Adam Collins, the Cats scored 13 unanswered runs in the sixth, seventh and 18th innings and doubled up the visiting Alexandria Blue Anchors 18-9 on Saturday night in front of 1,352 fans at Subway Field.
It was the most runs the Cats have yet to put up in a single game in the Northwoods League team’s 11-season history, a feat worthy of a squad that shattered the 306 runs they threw up in 2011 to 387.
It was a chance to make amends for a couple of slow starts, said Collins, a Chicago native who spent the summer playing ball in the Cincinnati area, agreeing to join the Cats to fill out a depleted roster in the final two weeks of the season.
“Tonight I just came with an approach at the plate that I just didn’t do well the past couple of games. So I wanted to change that up and everything worked out,” said Collins.
No hit was finer than the solo shot he crushed over the wall in left in the third inning, putting the Cats up 4-3 at the time.
The ball flew over the trees guarding the fence, bounced on High Street and crashed into the hotel across the way.
“I think it was a 2-2 count and the pitcher just threw one over the middle and I just turned on it well,” Collins said.
Thunder Bay took a 5-3 lead into the fourth, but the Blue Anchors tied it in the fourth on a two-run Jake Bergren single and took the lead an inning later on Andrew Mulato’s double. Alexandria extended their lead to 9-5 in the sixth off Cats starter Chris Kerwood on four singles and a walk, Dalton Leuschke driving in a pair with a two out hit.
Then the Cats bats took over.
Thunder Bay sent 10 men to the plate in their half of the sixth, Tyler Duplantis leading the charge with a one-out, two-run single. Philip Lyons and Collins followed with RBI singles of their own. Collins scored the go-ahead – and eventual winning – run on a Scott Held sacrifice fly.
Border Cats reliever Steve Pastrano, who earned the win settled things down defensively, retiring the side in order in the seventh, eighth and ninth.
The Cats tacked on two more runs in the seventh and slammed Alexandria reliever Jake Hanzalik for six more in the eighth, Tyler Stetson, with a double, and Held, with a single, each driving in a pair.
“It was nice. It’s great to get a few wins here at the end of the season,” Duplantis said. “I guess we could have done more earlier in the season. But nights like tonight are fun. They’re great.”
The Cats and Blue Anchors wrap up the 2013 season on Sunday at Subway Field. Game time is 5:05 p.m.
Cat tracks: Duplantis’ sixth-inning double leaves him one shy of the 19 Mike O’Neill posted in 2008. He extended his single-season RBI record to 61, two short of the team’s all-time mark set by Chris Curley from 2007 to 2009.
