The Thunder Bay Border Cats kick off the 2024 Northwoods League season Monday night as they travel to Rochester to take on the Honkers in the opener of a two-game series at Mayo Field. You can watch the game for free at northwoodsleague.com with first pitch set for 7:35pm ET.
Tyrus Riley (Fort Hays State University) gets the honour of the opening night start for Thunder Bay. The 6’6″, 200 pound righthander hails from Bentonville, AR, and appeared in 15 games, including nine starts during his collegiate season, where he compiled a 4-3 record and a 3.39 ERA.
One of the more intriguing players on the Border Cats roster is pitcher Kansai Sugimoto (pictured), who is a sophomore at Yavapai Community College in Arizona. Sugimoto is from Kyoto, Japan, but resides in Mississauga, Ont, and the 6’3″, 220 pound righthander struck out 37 batters in 34.2 innings this past season for Yavapai CC.
The Border Cats officially added three more Canadian born players to the roster over the weekend. Righthanded pitcher Tristan Delaplante is a native of Hamiton, Ont, and is coming off his freshman year at Bismarck State College. Infielder Nathanael Frederking from London, Ont, also completed his first season at Boston College while outfielder Jacob Miller of Ottawa, Ont, is a freshman outfielder at Jefferson College in Missouri.
Thunder Bay’s Jack Pineau is scheduled to start on the mound for the Cats home opener this Friday, May 31, at 7:35pm against the Minnesota Mud Puppies at Port Arthur Stadium. The stadium box office is open weekdays from 11:00am to 3:00pm.
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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. Entering its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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 350 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 (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, 2021 and 2023 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and two-time All-MLB first team 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.
