Thunder Bay, ON – The Border Cats used two RBIs from both Lincoln Pack and Stevie Waters to power the offense and rallied behind a strong bullpen outing to squeak out a 7-6 victory on Friday night to earn the series win over Waterloo.

After scoring first in game three of the series, Thunder Bay put a run on the board in the bottom of the first inning in the fourth and final game Friday night. Lincoln Pack reached on an error, then a walk put two on. With two outs, Colin Fisher pushed a single to right to plate Pack and put the Border Cats ahead 1-0. 

In the top of the second inning, Waterloo answered back. A walk and a single put two on for MJ Sweeney. After a double steal, Sweeney ripped a single back up the middle to score the run to even the tally 1-1. On the same play, a fielding error allowed another run to come in to put the Bucks out in front 2-1. 

In the bottom of the second, Thunder Bay leapfrogged into the lead. With one out, a hit by pitch, and a single brought up Manny Alberto, who got a seeing eye ground ball through the infield for an RBI single to even the tally 2-2. One batter later, Pack legged out a fielder’s choice to earn an RBI to give the Border Cats a 3-2 lead. 

In the top of the fourth, the Bucks offense sparked a rally. A walk, single, and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out. Later in the inning, a wild pitch got away and a run came in to level the score at 3-3. 

In the home half of the fourth, Thunder Bay responded. A walk and a single brought Jesus Vazquez who popped up to center. A fielding error let a run in to make it 4-3. With one out, Pack came up and lined a sacrifice fly to right to grow the lead to 5-3. 

In the top of the sixth, Waterloo brought in a pair of runs. Two walks set the table for George Baker and he laced a single to right to cut the lead in half 5-4. Now with two outs, Caleb Parker grounded a single into center to score a run that knotted the score at 5-5. 

In the last of the sixth, the Border Cats had the answer again. Two walks led to a one out single from Stevie Waters to bring a run home and put the Cats in the lead 6-5. 

In the top of the eighth, the Bucks fought back. Two singles opened the frame, then a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners. One batter later, a wild pitch brought the tying run to the plate and made the score all even at 6-6. 

In the home half of the eighth, Thunder Bay had one more response. Two walks and a single started the rally, then Fisher popped a fielder’s choice to second to score the run from third and put the Border Cats on top for good, 7-6, the score that would be the final. 

With the loss, Waterloo goes to 10-14 on the season and drops the series to Thunder Bay 1-3. Next up, the Bucks travel to La Crosse for a weekend series against the Loggers. Game one is slated for 6:35 pm CDT. Both starters in the game are TBD.

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