Riley Iffrig (pictured), homered and drove in four runs against the St. Cloud Rox.
The Thunder Bay Border Cats ran into the hottest team in the Northwoods League on Saturday night and despite a back and forth battle, the St. Cloud Rox won their 11th straight game with an 8-6 walk-off victory at Joe Faber Field. Noah Griese (University of Nebraska-Omaha) hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to drop the Cats second half record to 12-11. Thunder Bay is in third place 1.5 games behind the front running Duluth Huskies in the Great Plains East Division standings. St. Cloud leads the Great Plains West Division with a record of 18-6.
Riley Iffrig (Indiana State University) put the Cats in front in the first inning with a two-run home run, his second of the season. The first baseman also doubled and knocked in four runs on the night. With Thunder Bay trailing 6-5, Cole Ketzner (University of South Alabama) tied the game with a solo homer in the top of the eighth inning, his team leading ninth of the campaign. Nathanael Frederking (Boston College) chipped in with two hits, while Keegan Garis (Indiana State University) had a triple and scored three times. The right fielder is now hitting .522 in 15 games.
Griffin Catto (Southern Illinois University) got the final out with the bases loaded in the eighth to preserve the tie, but took the loss in relief to fall to 3-1.
The Cats and Rox conclude their two-game series on Sunday at 5:05pm ET with Peter Fusek (University of Wisconsin-Parkside) scheduled to start on the mound 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.