Border Cats Shutout Division Leading Bucks!

By Lance Jones

Four Thunder Bay Border Cats Pitchers combined to allow five hits in a 4-0 shutout win over the division leading Waterloo Bucks for their first road win of the season. The win also marks the first time the Border Cats have won game one of a series this year.
The Border Cats scored early in the game. Jake Engel’s (Dixie St.) eighth run batted in on a sacrifice fly to left in the third inning counted Nate Soriano (Houston Baptist). Soriano nailed a double off of Waterloo Starter Jack Parkinson (Rutgers) to leadoff the frame. The one run margin was enough for the Cats pitching staff to work with.

Austin Breazeale (GateWay CC) was efficient in his third start of the season. The Bucks had all of just four runners left on base in Breazeale’s six inning start. He struck out four and walked one to go with four hits surrendered. The Cats infield also pulled four double plays behind Breazeale as his win evened up his record at 1-1.

Brendan Cindric (Pepperdine), making his Border Cats debut, and Austin Eggleston (Friends U.) worked out of two-out jams in the seventh and eighth inning respectively.

It was not until the ninth where Thunder Bay picked up the bulk of their production. With runners at first and second, Nick Seamons (Nevada-Reno) placed a mint of a bunt down the third base line. The play ended up with Jordan Larson (Northern Illinois) scoring after an errant throw by the Bucks Third Baseman. Soriano’s second hit of the game into centre field scored Thomas Grilli (Panola C.). Then the Border Cats found success on a squeeze play. Jakob Newton (Florida Tech) showcased some small ball skills of his own with a bunt that seen Seamons go crashing into home to make it 4-0 and round out the scoring.

Austin Kern (Minot St.) pitched the ninth getting a couple fly outs and a ground out to lock up the Cats second shut out in four games.

Opportunities were few and far between for the Bucks as five different players picked up singles in five different innings. Each team left eight men on base.

Parkinson (0-2) ended up the tough luck loser as he allowed one run on six hits with three strikeouts over four innings in his start. Brett Lockwood (Kansas St.), Jack Corkery (Swarthmore) and Alex Holcomb (North Dakota St.) combined for four scoreless innings out of the bullpen until Holcomb got tagged with three in the ninth inning.

Thunder Bay and Waterloo play game two of a four game series on Saturday night, part of a six game road trip for the Border Cats.