THUNDER BAY – Riley Iffrig says he was fooled on a few fastballs, but didn’t let it get him down.
When he figured it out, he made the opposition pay.
With two runners aboard, the Indiana State freshman worked his way back from an 0-2 count and mashed Jake Jakuboski second 3-2 pitch over the wall in centre, the key blow in the Thunder Bay Border Cats five-run frame.
They’d go on to down the first-half champion La Crosse Loggers 7-4, improving to 2-1 in second-half play, and sent their reeling opponent to a third straight defeat.
Iffrig, hitting .364 with five RBIs in three appearances since joining the Border Cats after the conclusion of the opening half of the 2024 season, said the team wants to make up for falling short in the first half, when they finished third in the Great Plains East Division race.
“We want to come out here and win and just play a good game of baseball,” Iffrig said.
“The guys were just putting good ABs together and we were able to scratch a few runs across the board.”
Iffrig said despite his earlier struggles at the plate on Friday night, he strode to the batter’s box looking for a fastball to hit.
He got it.
“I kept missing a few, but I finally got one over the plate that I could drive and put a good swing on it.”
The early returns from Iffrig are encouraging, said Border Cats manager J.M. Kelly, back after missing four games, in part because of a suspension and in part to attend to some personal matters.
“He’s a really good ballplayer. He’s going to land on his feet somewhere really good. Sam Stem has (also) done a really good job. Not as much has fallen for him, but he’s barreled up some balls as well,” Kelly said.
“We may actually be a little better offensively in the second half than we were in the first. The pitchers are going to have to step up in the second half, but it’s been really good to see the hitters have shown up.”
Dylan Mulcahy (1-0) got the start for the Border Cats and didn’t allow a run over five three-hit innings. He walked four and struck out seven.
His La Crosse counterpart, Tyler Albanese, wasn’t as effective.
Albanese kept the Cats off the scoreboard for two innings, but Thunder Bay broke through in the third when Brody Chrisman plated Jackson Cooke with a one-out, bases loaded single.
La Crosse did manage to get out of the inning without any more damage, but the Border Cats added another run in the fourth. Brayden Kuriger singled, stole second and took third on a throwing error by Loggers catcher Kanon Sundgren, making his Northwoods League debut.
Stem hit a sacrifice fly, giving Thunder Bay a 2-0 lead.
Albanese (1-2) allowed the first two batters to reach in the fifth and Chrisman lifted another run-scoring fly ball to make it 3-0 Thunder Bay, ending the La Crosse starter’s night.
He allowed four runs on six hits and two walks, striking out seven.
Nick Veselinovic took over to start the sixth and walked three batters, leading to the Loggers first run of the night.
Tanner Vaughn relieved him with two outs and was tagged for three runs in the seventh, Sundgren’s second of three singles on the night leading to a pair of Loggers runs.
Kelly turned to Max Ramirez IV to close out the contest. The Loggers did get two batters on, thanks to broken-bat single and a slow roller to third that Sundgren beat out, but the Cats reliever got J.T. Kelenic, the brother of Atlanta Braves outfielder Jarred Kelenic, to strike out swinging to end the contest.
The Cats wrap up their eight-game homestand on Saturday against the Loggers.
