The Thunder Bay Border Cats pulled off a doubleheader sweep of the St. Cloud Rox on July 23-24 in St. Cloud, Minnesota, winning both games with late-inning rallies. The Border Cats took Game 1 by an 8-5 score and followed up with a 9-7 win in Game 2 at Joe Faber Field. With the sweep, Thunder Bay also completed a season-series sweep of the Rox, one of the top teams in the league.
In the opener, St. Cloud’s defense crumbled with six errors, giving away unearned runs as only three of the Border Cats’ eight runs were earned. Thunder Bay built a 6-2 lead with four runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth. The Rox battled back to cut the lead to 6-5 heading into the ninth, but the Border Cats tacked on two insurance runs to seal the win.
Game 2 saw the Rox jump ahead 4-1 before the Border Cats stormed back. Thunder Bay erupted for five runs in the seventh inning and three more in the eighth to take a 9-5 lead. St. Cloud mounted a late push but fell short, 9-7.
The Rox, who entered the doubleheader as First Half Great Plains Champions, saw their record drop to 34-21. The Border Cats handed them a rare home sweep, upsetting a club that had sent four players and its coaching staff to the Northwoods League All-Star Game earlier this month.
Rox utility player Tanner Recchio made history despite the losses, stealing eight bases on the day—four in each game—to tie the single-season stolen base record at 67. He already holds the league’s career stolen base mark.
The Border Cats are the only Canadian franchise in the Northwoods League. They play their home games at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and have won two league championships, in 2005 and 2008.
