The Border Cats celebrate on the field at Wade Stadium Tuesday after winning the Superior Cup in the season series with the Duluth Huskies.
Tuesday was a big night for The Thunder Bay Border Cats at Wade Stadium in Duluth, Minnesota. The Cats came back to knock off the Huskies 4-3 and win the Superior Cup in the battle between the two rivals as Thunder Bay took a 7-4 lead in the season series. It was the first time the Cats claimed the trophy since 2014, with the series not being played for three years from 2020 to 2022. The victory also improved the Cats second half record to 13-11 and pulled them into second place, one game behind the front running Huskies, atop the Great Plains East Division.
Trailing 3-1, the Cats rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh inning. Riley Iffrig (Indiana State University) started the rally with a lead-off triple and came into score on a double by Cole Ketzner (University of South Alabama). One out later, Thomas Cooper (Valparaiso University) doubled to score Ketzner to tie the game 3-3, and Garrett Solan (Bowling Green State University) followed with the third two-base hit of the inning to score Cooper with the eventual winning run. Zane Skansi (Creighton University) led the Cats at the plate going 2-for-4, while Sam Stem (Gonzaga University) cut the Duluth lead to 3-1 with a fourth inning RBI single before a season high crowd of 1,814 at The Wade.
NWL All-Star Max Ramriez IV (Niagara University) started on the mound and pitched five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Bode Gebbink (Missouri University of Science and Technology) tossed two scoreless innings of relief for the victory and Peter Fusek (University of Wisconsin-Parkside) nailed down his second save by getting the final six outs, while striking out one.
The Cats and Huskies meet for the 12th and final time on Wednesday at 7:35pm ET. Lefthander Adam Metivier (Piedmont University) is 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. Now in its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history 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, 360 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, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network. Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. 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 favourite team.