The Border Cats 2014 roster will again have a local flavour this season with the signing of Thunder Bay's Carter McEachern. The outfielder is having an outstanding sophomore season at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX., where he has started all 34 games for the Tigers. McEachern is batting .331 with one home run, two doubles and 21 runs batted in. The 19-year old had two stints with the Border Cats last season and hit .333 (10-30), in 10 games with one double and two RBI's.
Joining McEachern in Thunder Bay this summer will be his college teammate, pitcher Zack Speer. The 6'4", 230 pound righthander is the top pitcher on the Trinity University staff with a 7-1 record in 10 starts and a 2.01 earned run average. The junior from Houston, TX., has struck out 46 batters in 58 innings pitched. The Tigers are currently 28-6 overall and are the sixth ranked NCAA Division III team in the United States.
The Border Cats have also signed returning outfielder Alex Bautista from Kentucky's Lindsey Wilson College and pitcher Ryan Powers of Miami of Ohio University.
Bautista, a fan favourite last summer, is hitting .277 in 43 games this season with the NAIA school with seven home runs, eight doubles and 31 runs batted in. Bautista is in his junior season with the Blue Raiders after transferring from Clarendon College in Texas, where he played for former Border Cats manager Devin McIntosh. Despite hitting only .171 in 52 games with Thunder Bay last year, the Queens, NY., native showed great promise at the plate with four home runs and 18 RBI's.
Powers is a 6'5", 230 pound junior from LaGrange, IL. The righthander has started nine games for the Redhawks this season and is 3-3 with a 4.80 ERA. Powers has recorded 39 strikeouts in 54 innings.
The Border Cats open the 2014 Northwoods League season on Tuesday, May 27th, at 7:05pm versus the St. Cloud Rox at Tbaytel Park.
The Thunder Bay Border Cats are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, 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 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer (DET), Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYY), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit bordercatsbaseball.com