Walk-off win

Ralph the Rally Turtle is here to stay.

On Thursday, for inspiration designated hitter Alex Bautista turned to the crudely drawn creature, traced into the dirt in front of the Thunder Bay Border Cats dugout, a struggling team that had won just twice in 11 outings looking for any advantage to find the win column.

“It was definitely a big help. We had a big slump on our backs and the turtle helped us,” said Bautista, who smacked a walk-off two-out double to the wall in centre that plated Cory Kay with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, the only player to cross the plate on either team all night long.

Bautista, who entered the game against the 12-11 Duluth Huskies hitting a paltry .160, was told before the game the team was sticking with him, though the coaching staff offered him a bit of hitting advice, slightly altering his stance.

The Queens, N.Y. native took it to heart – and then delivered.

“I knew this kid had just given up a hit, so he was going to come with a first-pitch fastball and I just jumped on it,” said Bautista, who finished 2-for-4 on the night.

A 1-0 contest is bound to be labeled a pitcher’s duel, and Thunder Bay’s John Hayes and Duluth’s Clay Chapman lived up to the billing.

Both starters endured eight innings, Chapman surrendering just four hits and two walks, Hayes delivering a two-hit, three-walk performance boosted by a pair of brilliant defensive plays that stopped sure runs from scoring.

Hayes, who had a team-worst 11.57 earned run average when he tossed out the first pitch, didn’t get a decision, but did exactly what the Cats (9-14) have needed all season long on the mound.

“I just came out throwing first-pitch strikes to get ahead on batters, then you can do what you want with them,” Hayes said, seconds before he was doused with ice water by his teammates, happy to end a two-game slide.

“I just wanted to get ahead in the count and use my defence and just let them work.”

The first big play in the field happened in the top of the fifth.

Duluth’s Nick Saathof doubled with one out, took third on a wild pitch then tried to score when the ball squirted through to the backstop.

But Cats catcher Dylan Goodwin caught up to it in a hurry and rifled a the ball back to Hayes who charged in from the mound and laid the tag on Saathof to end the threat.

In the eighth, with Jered Meek on third, Keith Curcio hit a line shot up the middle that appeared destined to break the goose egg.
Not on Philip Lyons’ watch. The Cats second baseman made a spectacular diving stop, ending the inning and preserving the scoreless tie.

“My defence, they’re really solid back there. I just trust them to let them work. It’s basically what I do,” said Hayes, a reliever during his college season.

Chris Cervantes took the loss for Duluth giving up two hits in two-thirds of an inning. Zach Thiac set the Huskies down in order in the top of the ninth to earn the victory.

The Cats and Huskies will complete their two-game set Friday night at Subway Field.