It was the fourth of July south of the border, but there were very few fireworks on the field in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as the Express edged the Border Cats 1-0 to open the second half of the Northwoods League season. The only run of the game came on a home run by Eau Claire catcher Camden Ross (Western Kentucky) leading off the second inning. It was the Cats third straight loss by one run and dropped their overall record to 17-16.
Newcomer Karson Shepherd (Texas A&M University-Kingsville) got the start on the mound for Thunder Bay and was tagged with the loss, giving up one run on two hits, with a pair of strikeouts over four innings of work. Thunder Bay native Will Droll (University of Pittsburgh) pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout in his first appearance since June 8th after recovering from a left shoulder injury. Righthander Michael Pirrello (University of California-Irvine) struck out four over the final three shutout innings while catcher Carter Allen (Alvin CC) had two of the Cats four hits.
The two teams close out their two-game set on Wednesday at Carson Park at 7:35pm ET and the Cats then return home to open a four-game series on Thursday at Port Arthur Stadium against the Rochester Honkers at 6:35pm ET.
(photo of Will Droll 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.