A regular season record crowd of 2,856 school day fans cheered on the Thunder Bay Border Cats to their fourth straight win as the home side rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to upend the Waterloo Bucks 9-8 at Port Arthur Stadium. The morning game on Tuesday was the opener of a split doubleheader between the two clubs as part of their four-game series. The Cats pushed the final two runs across thanks to a wild pitch and a hit batter as Logan Johnstone (Gonzaga University) was plunked with two-out and the bases loaded. The Bucks had erased a 7-3 Thunder Bay lead by scoring four times in the top of the eighth to go ahead 8-7.
Newcomer Travis Chestnut (Texas A&M University) led the Cats at the plate, going 3-for-5, with two runs scored, while creating havoc on the base paths with three stolen bases. Tyler Kehoe (South Alabama) went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in, while Trey Lewis (South Alabama) and Easton Culp (Lamar University) also collected two hits as the Cats upped their record to 10-8. Caleb Bunch (Ranger College) picked up the win in relief to improve to 2-0 as he pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
In the nightcap on Tuesday, the Cats broke open a 3-3 tie by scoring three times in the fifth inning as they won their fifth in a row, 6-3 over the Bucks. Trey Lewis (South Alabama) went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and a run scored while Peyton Fosher (University of Nevada) came out of the bullpen to get his second win of the season. The righthander tossed four shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven. Tanner Canner (Tarleton State University) pitched a scoreless ninth with a pair of strikeouts for his first save of the season. The Cats (11-8), close out their six-game homestand on Wedndesday against Waterloo at 6:35pm. Thunder Bay’s Jack Pineau (Creighton University) is the scheduled starter for the Cats. It’s also Weenie Wednesday with two-for-one hot dogs presented by Superior Foods.
(photo 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 Rockers as your favorite team.
