Logan McIntyre (pictured) knocked in a pair of runs in the Border Cats opening night win over the Minnesota Mud Puppies.
A regular season record crowd of 3,051 fans cheered on the Border Cats to a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Mud Puppies in their 2024 home opener Friday night at Port Arthur Stadium. The win raised the Cats first place record in the Great Plains East Division to 4-1. Thunder Bay native Jack Pineau (Creighton University) got the opening night start for the second straight season and the righthander struck out eight over 4 2/3 innings while allowing two runs. The Cats pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning with Logan McIntyre (University of Missouri-St. Louis) driving in the tying run with his second RBI of the night on a single to centre field and the winning run then scored one batter later on a Mud Puppies error during an attempted double steal.
Carter Wall (University of Utah) picked up the win in relief while Tyrus Riley (Fort Hays State University) fired three scoreless inning with five strikeouts for his first save of the season.
The Cats and Mud Puppies wrap up their two-game series on Saturday at 6:35pm. Sean Heppner (University of British Columbia) is the scheduled starter for the Cats, who continue their six-game homestand.
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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.
