The Thunder Bay Border Cats continued their six-game road trip Monday in Eau Claire and they grabbed sole possession of first place in the Great Plains East Division by beating the Express 3-1 at Carson Park in the opener of a two-game set. The win upped the Cats record to 15-10 and Thunder Bay now leads Eau Claire by one game in the battle for the first half division title with seven games remaining. The Border Cats broke open a scoreless game with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Tyler Griggs (Gonzaga University) led off with a single and came around to score after a sacrifice bunt by Travis Chestnut (Texas A&M University) and a throwing error. Chestnut then stole second and third base and came into score on an RBI groundout by Cole Ketzner (South Alabama). Chesnut was again the catalyst in the eighth inning as he had a two-out single, stole his third base of the night, and scored on a run scoring single by Patrick Engskov (University of Oklahoma). The Express took advantage of a lost fly ball in the outfield and a wild pitch in the last of the ninth inning to break the shutout.
Four Thunder Bay pitchers combined on a four-hitter as the Cats won for the eighth time in 10 games. Starter Evans Hendricks (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) struck out seven batters over the first 4 2/3 innings with Billy Humphrey (Western Illinois University), Tanner Carter (Tarleton State University), and Jacob Gajic (Northwest Missouri State University) finishing off the victory. Humphrey got the win to improve his record to 4-0 while Gajic got the final six outs, striking out three, for his first save. The Cats and Express meet again on Tuesday in Eau Claire at 7:35pm ET with righthander Robert Spencer (Texas A&M University-Kingsville) the scheduled starter for the visitors. The two teams then travel to Thunder Bay for a two-game series at Port Arthur Stadium Wednesday and Thursday with first pitch both nights at 6:35pm ET.
###
The Thunder Bay Border Cats are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 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, over 325 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.bordercatsbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.
