\n\tTHUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA – After falling behind 5-0 after just three frames, the La Crosse Loggers came storming back to take a 6-5 lead going to the bottom of the ninth only to end up falling to the Thunder Bay Border Cats 7-6 in eleven innings on Thursday night in front of 1,049 fans at Port Arthur Stadium.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThunder Bay jumped on Loggers starter Cody Ebert (Columbia) right away in the first, plating three runs thanks to a pair of home runs and then added two more in the third to take what looked like a commanding 5-0 lead.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tBut La Crosse would respond in a big way in the fourth when David Villar (South Florida) drove one over the 400 foot centerfield wall for a three-run shot and then the Lumbermen tacked on another later that inning to trim the lead to 5-4.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tLa Crosse would knot things up in the ninth thanks to a bases loaded walk and then Villar struck again in the ninth with a two-out RBI single to the give the Loggers a 6-5 advantage going to the bottom of the ninth.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Cats would open the ninth with back-to-back hits off of reliever Johnny Croley (Reinhardt) to put runners at the corners. Charlie Fletcher (William & Mary) would then enter the game and issue a walk to load the bases before inducing a 5-2-3 double play to record the first two outs, leaving runners still at second and third. That's when Kevin Biondic stroked a single to plate the tying run before Ryan Mantle (Creighton) threw out the potential winning run at the plate to send the game into extra innings.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter neither team scored in tenth and the Loggers were shutout in the eleventh, the hosts Cats pushed a run across in the eleventh to pick up the 7-6 victory.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Lumbermen did pound out nine hits on the night, lead by David Villar's 3-for-5 night with a home run and four RBI's, an effort that was good enough to earn him NWL Player of the Night honors.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe same two teams will conclude this current two-game set on Friday night in Thunder Bay with a 6:05 p.m. (Central) first pitch on tap. Air time on the Logger Nation Station, 102.7 FM, is set for 5:30 p.m.\n<\/p>\n