Hometown players fired up for Border Cats return to Thunder Bay

Tuesday night will be one to remember for Thunder Bay Border Cats pitcher Jack Pineau.

Pineau is one of three Thunder Bay-born players — the others being Will Droll and Porter Jorgenson — on this year's Border Cats roster. And he'll be taking the mound in Port Arthur Stadium for the team's home opener on Tuesday, which is also the first Cats home game in three years.

As to how Pineau is feeling in the leadup to the home opener, he said he's "just super excited."

"I wouldn't say nervous, not yet at least," Pineau said during a team workout at Port Arthur Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. "But there's been quite a bit of buzz around the the city. It's gonna be pretty special night."

The sentiment was shared by Droll, who's also part of the Cats pitching rotation.

"It's honestly a dream come true," he said of being part of the Cats organization. "I grew up watching games here."

"We had season tickets when I was young and it's just kind of like a full circle. I mean, before when I was young, I didn't even know what college baseball was. I just knew I wanted to play for the Border Cats."

This season marks the first time the Cats have taken the field in three years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tuesday will mark Pineau's second start of the 2023 schedule. The team opened the season on the road, playing two games each in Mankato, Rochester, and Waterloo.

Despite a convincing, 12-0 win on night one, the team is coming back to Thunder Bay with a 2-4 record over the first six games. 

Pineau — a veteran of Canada's national junior baseball team — started game two, also in Mankato, which the Cats dropped 4-2.

"I gave a lead-off double to start the game, so that ... kind of made me give my head a shake a little bit," Pineau said. "But