The Duluth Huskies broke a 4-4 tie by scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and hung on to edge the Thunder Bay Border Cats 6-5 on Thursday at Wade Stadium. The win was the Huskies seventh straight and Duluth now leads the 12-game season series between the two clubs 5-2. Ryder Hernandez (Texas State University) hit his first home of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth inning, as the Cats scored four times to take a 4-3 lead, however Hernandez had the leave the game later due to a leg injury. Trey Lewis (South Alabama) and Cole Ketzner (South Alabama) both had two hits, including RBI singles, while Patrick Engskov (University of Oklahoma) and Peter Fusek (Western Illinois University) also collected two hits on the night.
Trailing 6-4, Thunder Bay loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth inning, but managed only one run on an RBI groundout by Karson Krowka (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi). Michael Pirrello (University of California-Irvine) took the loss in relief as he allowed two runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings.
It was throwback night in Duluth as the Border Cats wore Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks jerseys from the Northern League and the Huskies donned Dukes jerseys from their days in the independent professional league as well. The two teams will also have a throwback night at Port Arthur Stadium this Saturday at 6:35pm. The Cats and Huskies conclude their series at Wade Stadium on Friday at 7:35pm ET. Evans Hendricks (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Thunder Bay. The southpaw has made six starts this season and is 0-0 with a 4.26 earned run average.
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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.
