Published On: March 3rd, 2015

 

The Thunder Bay Border Cats, under the direction of new manager Danny Benedetti, are proud to announce their first player signings for the 2015 Northwoods League season.

The Cats have signed infielder Penn Murfee, pitcher Ryan Johnson, pitcher Mitchell Kuebbing, catcher Eddie Posavec, and infielder Justin Yurchak.

Murfee and Johnson are both freshmen and are teammates at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University, the 2014 College World Series champions.  Murfee is a 6’2″, 190 pound infielder from Nashville.  He has played in nine games this season for the Commodores and is  batting .321 with three doubles, and six runs batted in.  Johnson is a 6’1″, 170 pound left-hander from Cedar Park, TX.  Johnson has appeared in three games this season, compiling a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings pitched with eight strikeouts.  During his senior season in high school in 2013, Johnson set a team record for earned run average, when he registered a 1.04 ERA for Cedar Park High School.

Kuebbing is a 6’4″, 180 pound sophomore from Virginia’s Longwood University.  The Burlington, KY, right-hander appeared in 22 games last season, notching one win, three saves, and 36 strikeouts with a 3.86 ERA in 53.2 innings pitched.

Posavec is a 5’10”, 180 pound catcher from Hatfield, PA., and attends Binghamton University in New York.  The sophomore appeared in 45 games during the 2014 season and  batted .309 with 47 hits, 10 doubles, and 18 runs batted in.

Yurchak is a freshman and attends Wake Forest University in North Carolina.  The 6’1″, 205 pound third baseman from Clifton Park, NY.,  has played in 10 games this year and is off to a hot start, batting  .345 with 10 hits and four RBI’s.

The Border Cats open the 2015 Northwoods League season on Tuesday, May 26th, versus the Eau Claire Express at 7:05pm at Tbaytel Park.  Season tickets and flex-packs are now on sale by calling (807) 766-CATS.

The Border Cats are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.bordercatsbaseball.com

Latest News