Cats Sign Outfielder

The Thunder Bay Border Cats are proud to announce the signing of outfielder Tyler Rolland from Southern Illinois University.  The junior, from Broken Arrow, OK., has played in 31 games this season and is batting .258 with two doubles and 11 RBI's.   Rolland has an on-base percentage of .410, thanks to 21 walks.

Rolland will be joined in Thunder Bay this summer by a pair of teammates from the Northwestern State University as the Border Cats have signed right-handed pitchers Nathan Aultman and Reid Peavy.
The Cats have also announced that outfielder Nick Heath, a recruit from Northwestern State University, will miss NWL season due to an injury.  The redshirt freshman is scheduled to undergo Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery.  Heath was named the top MLB prospect by Baseball America in the Hamptons Summer Collegiate League after leading the North Fork Ospreys to the 2013 championship.  The Cats are hopeful that Heath will be able to play in Thunder Bay in 2015.
The Border Cats open the 2014 Northwoods League season at home on Tuesday, May 27th, against the St. Cloud Rox at Tbaytel Park at 7:05 pm.

McEachern Returns To Cats

The Border Cats 2014 roster will again have a local flavour this season with the signing of Thunder Bay's Carter McEachern.  The outfielder is having an outstanding sophomore season at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX., where he has started all 34 games for the Tigers.  McEachern is batting .331 with one home run, two doubles and 21 runs batted in.  The 19-year old had two stints with the Border Cats last season and hit .333 (10-30),  in 10 games with one double and two RBI's. 

Joining McEachern in Thunder Bay this summer will be his college teammate, pitcher Zach Speer.  The 6'4", 230 pound righthander is the top pitcher on the Trinity University staff with a 7-1 record in 10 starts and a 2.01 earned run average.  The junior from Houston, TX., has struck out 46 batters in 58 innings pitched.  The Tigers are currently 28-6 overall and are the sixth ranked NCAA Division III team in the United States. 

The Border Cats have also signed returning outfielder Alex Bautista from Kentucky's Lindsey Wilson College and pitcher Ryan Powers of Miami of Ohio University.

Bautista, a fan favourite last summer, is hitting .277 in 43 games this season with the NAIA school with seven home runs, eight doubles and 31 runs batted in.  Bautista is in his junior season with the Blue Raiders after transferring from Clarendon College in Texas, where he played for former Border Cats manager Devin McIntosh.   Despite hitting only .171 in 52 games with Thunder Bay last year, the Queens, NY., native showed great promise at the plate with four home runs and 18 RBI's. 

Powers is a 6'5", 230 pound junior from LaGrange, IL.  The righthander has started nine games for the Redhawks this season and is 3-3 with a 4.80 ERA.  Powers has recorded 39 strikeouts in 54 innings.

 

The Border Cats open the 2014 Northwoods League season on Tuesday, May 27th, at 7:05pm versus the St. Cloud Rox at Tbaytel Park.          

Petrie Cup Is Back

The top senior men's hockey teams in Thunder Bay will take to the ice this week at Fort William First Nations Arena for the Petrie Cup Championship.

The Petrie Cup was a staple in Thunder Bay during the 1970's and 80's and is returning this year with six teams battling for the title.  The original championship trophy is again being provided by Tom Petrie, owner of Petrie's Cycle and Sports.

The six teams are made up from three local loops, the Thunder Bay Senior League, the Stanley Rural League and the Superior League, which is based at FWFN Arena.  The clubs qualified for the tournament by winning either their league regular season or playoff championship.  Team rosters are loaded with former Junior "A" players and also include former professional players Bobby Bolt, Jeff Heerema and Malcolm MacMillan.  

The modified round robin tournament opens Tuesday night with three games.  The Knights of the Stanley League play the Lumberjacks from the Superior League at 7:45.  The Hornets of Thunder Bay Senior League take on the Stanley League champion Wolves at 8:45 and in the last game of the night at 9:45, the Wolf Clan, champions of Superior League go up against Coastal Steel, the champs of the Thunder Bay Senior League.

There are three round robin games nightly with the semi finals scheduled for Friday at 7:00 and 8:30 and the championship game Saturday, April 19th, at 7:30.  Admission is free. 

North Stars Season Ends

The Thunder Bay North Stars season came to an end with a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Iron Rangers Sunday in Hoyt Lakes.  The Iron Rangers won it on a power play goal by Matt O'Dea with just over 4 minutes remaining in the third period to take the semi final 4 games to 2.  The Iron Rangers held period leads of 1-0 and 2-1.  Kenny Turner and Robert McLean scored for the Stars, who were outshot 37-20.  Eric Mann took the loss in goal for Thunder Bay.  The North Stars lost all three games on the road in the series by one goal.  Minnesota now advances to play Fort Frances in the SIJHL Final for the Bill Salonen Cup.