THUNDER BAY, Ontario – Cameron Johnson delivered 7.0 1-run innings on the mound and both George McIntyre and Jalen Smith homered and drove in two in a 5-1 win for the Duluth Huskies (16-18) over the Thunder Bay Border Cats (15-18)

The first two innings were quiet, Tyler Bribiescas and Johnson allowing just one combined hit and no runs. Bribiescas issued a two-out walk to Maddox Monsour in the third, and McIntyre made him pay for the mistake. The shortstop reached out on a fastball away, and with a mere flick of the wrists sent one over the right-field fence for his third home run of the season.

Thunder Bay responded in the fourth, solving Johnson for the first time. Alex Kean singled with 1 out and advanced on a wild pitch. Ayden Hadley drove him in by pulling a double into right center. After a fifth inning where both starters exchanged perfect frames, Jalen Smith continued his Canadian rampage. Smith took a monster hack, went to a knee on the follow-through, and watched his ball sail over the left-field fence. That swat served as Jalen’s 10^th home run of the season (tied for most in the Northwoods), and his fifth jack against Thunder Bay in his last five meetings with the Cats. Johnson induced double plays in the sixth and seventh to erase baserunners and conclude his stellar day.

Monsour led off the eighth with a walk, and was swiftly pushed to third by a McIntyre double. Jalen Smith shot a single to right to plate Monsour, and McIntyre cantered home on a passed ball for a 5-1 lead. Devin Costa and Abe Ahlberg threw scoreless relief innings to hand the Huskies their third straight win against the Cats, taking the Superior Cup tally to Duluth 5, Thunder Bay 2.

Johnson’s final line in his 7.0 stanzas was five hits, one run, two walks, three strikeouts, and a win. Costa and Ahlberg struck out a batter apiece in their shutout innings.

Monsour scored two of Duluth’s five runs. McIntyre also scored twice on a double and a homer, driving in a pair. Jalen Smith went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI.

On Deck

The Huskies conclude the first half of Northwoods League play against Thunder Bay tomorrow. First pitch comes at 5:35 p.m. Duluth is off June 30^th and July 1^st before beginning half number two against Eau Claire at home