THUNDER BAY, ON – Thunder Bay, hold onto your rally caps — because Saturday night’s Border Cats game was an instant classic! Under the bright lights of Port Arthur Stadium, our hometown heroes clawed back from a four-run deficit to stun the Rochester Honkers 11-10 in an electric Northwoods League showdown that had the crowd roaring and the bleachers bouncing!
Let’s paint the picture: it was a game filled with drama, lead changes, and a whole lot of heart. The Border Cats were up early, lost the lead, got it back — then watched it slip away again as the Honkers dropped five in the top of the seventh. The scoreboard read 10-6. Tensions were high. But these Cats weren’t finished.
Enter the bottom of the eighth — and cue the baseball fireworks.
Jordan Bach stepped up and absolutely launched a two-run BOMB to right field. That sparked the comeback. Suddenly, it was 10-9, and Port Arthur Stadium was alive.
Moments later, Trey Fikes punched a single, and Jeremy Sheffield and Hayden Stringfellow drew back-to-back walks. Bases juiced. Only one out. The air? Electric.
Manny Alberto did his job, lifting a deep sac fly to bring home Fikes and tie things at 10-all. But this wasn’t just about tying — the Cats were HUNGRY.
Next up, Braxton Templin. The designated hitter dropped a soft looper into shallow centre, and in came Sheffield, sliding across the plate with the go-ahead run! That capped a FIVE-RUN EIGHTH and gave Thunder Bay the lead they’d ride all the way home.
Cue the closer — Jackson Hohensee. With the Honkers threatening and the bases loaded in the ninth, the young righty buckled down. With two outs and a 3-1 count on the final batter, Hohensee reached back and delivered a game-sealing strikeout! Boom! Ballgame! Border Cats WIN!
This young team is showing a lot of mid-season – playoff run maturity at this stage of the season.
And what a mentality it is. With this 11-10 comeback win, the Border Cats split the series with Rochester and improve their season record to 3-3.
Next up? The Cats hit the road Sunday for a two-game road swing in Willmar, but they’ll be back at Port Arthur Stadium Tuesday night to take on the Duluth Huskies.
So Thunder Bay — keep those claws sharp and your cheers loud. Because this team is for real.