Thunder Bay – Sports – Alright Thunder Bay, grab your rally caps and lean in, because we’ve got the recap from a rough road night for your hometown heroes — the Thunder Bay Border Cats — as they clashed with the red-hot Willmar Stingers down in Minnesota!
💥 Final Score: Stingers 13, Border Cats 4
That’s right — Willmar came out swinging in their home opener and handed the Cats a tough loss, dropping Thunder Bay’s record to 3-4 while the Stingers soared to 5-1.
🎬 Game got rolling early!
Your Border Cats drew first blood in the top of the 1st, plating two quick runs and setting the tone. But the Stingers wasted no time firing back, dropping a four-run haymaker in the bottom half — and just like that, the momentum was gone.
After a quiet stretch from both teams, things unraveled fast in the 5th…
🔥 STINGER STORM INNING – ROUND ONE!
Willmar lit it up with another four-run frame, capped off by a moonshot from left fielder Jordan Kuhnau, who launched a three-run bomb that left no doubt and sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
Then came Round Two in the 6th inning, and boy did it sting.
🐝 The Stingers piled on four more!
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Kuhnau stayed hot, driving in another run.
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Catcher Brock Larsen drove in two with a clean single to center.
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Grant Sonke doubled in a run to make it a 12-3 lead, effectively putting the game out of reach.
⚾ Pitching Shines for Willmar
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Starter Ian Segna delivered a rock-solid 7.0 innings, giving up just 3 earned runs and fanning four.
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Reliever Ben Irsfeld slammed the door in the 8th, striking out two and stretching his scoreless streak to six innings!
🌟 Offensive Stars of the Night
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Jordan Kuhnau: 3-for-5, 3 RBIs, HR
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Grant Sonke: 2-for-4, 4 RBIs, HR
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Brock Larsen: 2-run single to blow it open
🙅♂️ Tough Night for the Cats
Despite that strong first inning, the Border Cats just couldn’t keep pace with Willmar’s thunder sticks. But hey, every team has one of those nights — it’s how you bounce back that counts!
🎯 Next Up
The Border Cats will get another crack at the Stingers on Monday, June 2, first pitch at 6:35 PM CT. Stream it live on NWL+, and let’s get behind the Cats as they look to claw back to .500!
🏟️ Let’s go, Border Cats! Time to regroup, refocus, and get back in the win column!
