The Thunder Bay Border Cats bounced back in a big way Saturday afternoon with a 10-6 victory over the Willmar Stingers before a Canada Day crowd of 1,019 at Port Arthur Stadium. The Cats erased a 2-0 Willmar lead with a five-run first inning highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of Tyler Kehoe (University of South Alabama). Thunder Bay had a 6-3 lead heading into the seventh inning, but Willmar took of advantage of a two-out error to tie the score 6-6 thanks to back-to-back home runs. However, the Cats came fighting back scoring four times in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI single by Tyler Griggs (Gonzaga University) and a huge three-run homer by Jonah Sutton (University of Memphis).
Kannon Carr (Jefferson College) came out the bullpen to make his first start and gave up three runs on four hits with three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings in his final appearance of the season. Caleb Bunch (Northwestern State University) got the win in relief improving to 4-0. Bunch struck out three over 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The win improved Thunder Bay’s record to 17-13 with two games remaining in the first half of the schedule and the Border Cats trail first place Eau Claire by a half game atop the Great Plains East Division. The Express host the Duluth Huskies on Saturday night. The Cats and Stingers continue their four-game series Sunday afternoon at 1:35pm with Lefthander Evans Hendricks (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) getting the start on the mound. It’s Family Day with a package deal of four tickets (two adults and two children), 4 hot dogs, 4 Pepsi and 4 bags of Old Dutch chips all for just $44.00.
(photo of Jacob Gajic from Hamilton, Ontario 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 Border Cats as your favorite team.
