THUNDER BAY -- Shane Shepard says he doesn’t really consider himself a power hitter.
You could have fooled the Waterloo Bucks on Tuesday night.
Shepard blasted a grand slam over the wall in right-field, drove in five runs and led the Thunder Bay Border Cats to an 11-7 win at TbayTel Park.
The blast was his seventh home run of the season, tying him for the team lead. He also tops the Cats with 30 RBI.
“I’ve never really been a huge home run hitter,” said Shepard, who had two in 89 at bats last season at North Carolina State.
“But since I’ve been up here I’ve sort of developed into it. It’s been a lot of hours of work before the games and after the games and stuff like that to get me to the point I’m at right now. It’s been a good year so far.”
He’s hoping his new found love affair with the long ball carries forward when he returns to school in the fall for his junior season with the Wolf Pack.
“It’s definitely a plus, for sure, if I can bring a veteran aspect of my game back to school and better myself, I think that would be great.”
Joe Gellenbeck also homered for Thunder Bay in the seventh, giving the Cats 27 on the season, one more than they hit in all of 2015 – and the most since they bashed 45 in 2013.
The win was the team’s seventh in the second half, one more than they managed to scrape together in a first half that saw them go 6-28, tying a league futility mark for fewest wins in a half.
That’s good news said starter Shannon Broussard, making his first start – and second appearance – since tossing a no-hitter in Duluth last week.
“Hopefully we get hot, get some wins and get back in the playoff race,” said Broussard, who exited after allowing the first two batters in the seventh to reach, earning the victory despite a line that showed he allowed nine hits and six walks.
The eight-run lead the Cats built up through four innings made his job a whole lot easier, he said.
“It’s great to get ahead. That’s when you get out there and throw strikes and let my defence go to work,” said Broussard, a Baytown, Texas native who pitches for Cedar Valley College.
After their southpaw starter got out of a no-out bases loaded jam in the first, the Cats scored twice in their opening at bat, Shepard and Anthony Brocato each plating runs on back-to-back singles off Bucks starter Bryce Reichmann.
The victimized him for two more in the third.
The Bucks showed a little offensive spark of their own in the fourth, Robert Neustrom countering with a grand slam of his own to cut the Thunder Bay lead in half, 8-4.
Neustrom added a two-run double in the seventh, scoring twice to account for all seven Waterloo runs.
Reichmann, who gave up eight runs on 12 hits, took the loss.
Anthony Paisar, Joey Burris and Vinny Santarsiero each pitched an inning of relief for the Border Cats, who will take on the Bucks again on Wednesday to end their six-game home-stand.
