The Thunder Bay Border Cats closed out a four-game road trip with a close 2-1 defeat against the La Crosse Loggers on Sunday.

The Border Cats had the potential tying run reach third base in each of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but the Loggers’ bullpen thwarted Thunder Bay’s late comeback bid.

A two-run home run by La Crosse’s Eli Small in the fourth inning proved to be all the offence the home side would need.

Jeremy Sheffield (Georgetown University) drove in the lone run for the Border Cats in the first inning.

Starting pitcher John McDonald (Creighton University) tossed three scoreless innings for Thunder Bay, striking out three Loggers. Cameron Johnson (Rutgers University) came on in relief in the sixth, ultimately retiring six La Crosse batters without allowing a hit and just one walk.

The Border Cats return to Port Arthur Stadium on Monday, hosting the Eau Claire Express for the first of two games before the St. Cloud Rox visit Thunder Bay later in the week. First pitch of that game is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Thunder Bay’s Makaio Cisernos (Pensacola State College) is the expected starting pitcher. Cisneros has made two starts on the season, with 8 strikeouts in 8 innings and a 1.13 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. Entering its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history 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, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 380 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 (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford 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, two-time Silver Slugger 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.