Sam Stem (pictured), hit his third home run of the season Thursday in Waterloo against the Bucks.
The Thunder Bay Border Cats opened a long stretch of 14 straight games on the road with a loss Thursday in Waterloo, Iowa, as they fell 9-4 to the Bucks. The defeat dropped the Cats second half record to 11-6, but Thunder Bay remains in first place by one game over Rochester atop the Great Plains East Division, after the Honkers were beaten 8-2 by Eau Claire.
Following a 5:00am departure from Thunder Bay and a 10-hour bus ride, the Cats trailed the Bucks 2-0, but an error opened the door to a six-run sixth inning as Waterloo grabbed an 8-0 lead to put the game out of reach. Sam Stem (Gonzaga University) hit his third homer of the season, a two-run shot in the eighth, as the left fielder drove in three of the Cats four runs. Thunder Bay added two more runs in the ninth on a run scoring single by Zane Skansi (Creighton University) and a Stem RBI groundout.
Mason Lemons (Arkansas State University-Mountain Home) started for the Cats and took the loss to fall to 1-2. The righthander pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed seven hits and seven runs, although only two of the runs were earned, while walking two and striking out two.
The Cats and Bucks conclude their two-game series on Friday night at Riverfront Stadium at 7:35pm ET with lefthander Adam Metivier (Piedmont University) the scheduled starter for Thunder Bay.
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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.
