The Thunder Bay Border Cats made it two straight wins over the Duluth Huskies on Saturday with a 7-4 victory before 1,105 fans on Whiskey Jacks Night at Port Arthur Stadium. The Cats used a four-run sixth inning to grab a 7-2 lead in the game and now trail the season series for the Superior Cup 5-4 with three games remaining between the two rivals.
Carter Allen (Eastern Illinois University) led the Cats at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in, including a two-run double in the sixth inning uprise. Daylan Pena (Texas State University) also went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a run scored.
Karson Shepherd (Texas A&M University-Kingsville) started for Thunder Bay and pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned), on seven hits. Jacob Gajic (Northwest Missouri State University) picked up the win in relief to improve to 3-1. The lefthander from Hamilton, ON, tossed four innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts. With the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning for Duluth, Peter Fusek (Western Illinois University) got the final out for his first save of the season.
The Border Cats and Huskies wrap up their two-game series on Sunday before the Great Plains Divison All-Star break. First pitch is at 1:35pm at Port Arthur Stadium with Cole Poirrier (Nicholls State University) the scheduled starter for the Cats. The righthander has appeared in 10 games and is 1-1 with a 3.95 ERA. Sunday is “Family Day” with families receiving 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 Pepsi and 4 bags of Old Dutch Chips for $44.00 and kids can run the bases after the game. It’s also “Hockey Day” presented by the Thunder Bay North Stars. Fans wearing their hockey jerseys will have a chance to win a pair of North Stars season tickets for the 2023-24 Junior “A” season.
(photo of Karson Shepherd 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.
