CATS ADD SUZUKI, COMER TO ROSTER
The Thunder Bay Border Cats have added some familiar names to the roster with the signings of pitcher Yuji Suzuki and infielder Kyle Comer to temporary contracts prior to the 2015 Northwoods League season opener.
Suzuki, a fan favourite from Toronto, ON., appeared in 14 games for Thunder Bay last season, including 10 starts. The righthander, who plays his collegiate ball at Concordia University in St. Paul, MN., had a 2-5 record with one save an a 5.77 earned run average.
Comer joined the Cats in the second half of the 2014 season and batted .238 in 18 games. The native of Rhinelander, WI., plays at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Thunder Bay manager Danny Benedetti has also added five pitchers to the Border Cats staff. Signing with the Cats are Kyle Von Ruden (University of Hawaii), Joey Benitez (Old Dominion University), Mike Eagan (Eckerd College), Jack Mahan (Eckerd College), and Anthony Morris (St. Thomas Aquinas College).
The Cats have also added to the roster infielders Lou Matarazzo (Catawba Valley Community College), Grant McKown (Florida Institute of Technology) and Andres Visbal (Nova Southeastern University).
The Border Cats open the 2015 Northwoods League season Tuesday versus the Eau Claire Express at7:05pm at Tbaytel Park. The stadium box office opens Tuesday morning at 10:00 am. The Express joined the North Division in 2014 and the Border Cats won the season series 5-3.
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), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.bordercatsbaseball.com.