For the second straight game the Thunder Bay Border Cats lost in 10 innings, by the identical 3-2 score, to the Willmar Stingers before 860 fans on Monday at Port Arthur Stadium. Thunder Bay finished up the first half of the Northwoods League schedule in second place with a 17-15 record, two games behind the Eau Claire Express. The Express (20-14), claimed a playoff berth after crushing the Rochester Honkers 12-1 at Mayo Field.
Thunder Bay’s Jack Pineau (Creighton University) pitched five shutout innings against the Stingers with five strikeouts, but he surrendered four consecutive two-out hits in the sixth and left the game trailing 2-0. However, the Cats clawed their way back scoring twice in the last of the seventh inning on an RBI double by Zane Skansi (Creighton University), who then scored when the next batter Travis Chestnut (Texas A&M University) singled to centre to knot the game 2-2. In the extra inning, the Stingers cashed in their designated runner on a single by Luke Williams (Alabama), while the Cats came up empty in their final at-bat as they stranded 14 men on the base in the loss. Chestnut went 4-for-5 at the plate to raise his average to .345 while Skansi and Logan Johnstone (Washington State University) added two hits apiece. Cole Poirrier (Nicholls State University) took the loss in relief.
The Cats begin the second half of the season in Eau Claire on Tuesday at 6:00pm ET in the opener of the two-game set against the Express and return home on Thursday when they open a four-game series against the Rochester Honkers at 6:35pm.
(photo of Jack Pineau courtesy of James Mirabelli Photography)
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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 Border Cats as your favorite team.