Brett Kay’s final season in Thunder Bay was an all-star one.
The Border Cats shortstop on Sunday was named to the Northwoods League’s post-season all-star team, the lone member of the Port Arthur Stadium squad to get the nod.
The Arlington Heights, Ill. native hit .320 with one homerun, 30 RBI and 14 doubles in 64 games in his second year with the organization. He also scored 49 times for the Cats, who were rained out of their season finale in Willmar.
A product of Illinois State University, the 21-year-old was a vastly improved player at the plate in 2012, upping his average 97 points over the .223 he hit in 2011, his rookie campaign.
Alexandria outfielder Ben Moore was named NWL MVP, while Wisconsin pitcher Jack Fischer was voted pitcher of the year.
Moore, who did not make the mid-season all-star game roster, shattered former major leaguer Jay Gibbons’ single-season RBI record, driving home 84 runs to beat the old mark by 16. Moore hit .335 for the Beetles, with 16 homeruns.
Fischer led all starters with a 1.76 earned run average and finished with a 6-1 record in nine starts. He also struck out 61 in 56.1 innings pitched, while allowing just 14 walks.
The 2012 Northwoods League postseason all-star team:
Catcher
Austin Barrett (Waterloo)
Nate Irving (Wisconsin)
First base
Casey Gillaspie (Eau Claire)
Michael Suchy (Willmar)
Second base
Tanner Vavra (Alexandria)
Pat Kelly (Wisconsin)
Third base
Trey Vavra (Duluth)
Bre Kimball (Lakeshore)
Shortstop
Brett Kay (Thunder Bay)
Mark Chapman (La Crosse)
Outfield
James Ramsay (Duluth)
Richard Prigatano (La Crosse)
Tyler Marincov (Madison)
Kevin Kaczmarski (Waterloo)
Eric Filia-Snyder (Wisconsin)
Designated hitter
Paul Karmeris (Duluth)
Eric Aguilera (Lakeshore)
Pitchers
Anthony Bazzani (Alexandria)
Alex Turkey (Battle Creek)
Joey Novak (Duluth)
Dylan Vogt (Duluth)
Bryce Bellin (Green Bay)
Jacob Dorris (La Crosse)
Jake Stassi (La Crosse)
Ryan Harris (Lakeshore)
Adam Mott (Mankato)
Zach Hrisch (St. Cloud)
Brady Anderson (Willmar)
Jack Fischer (Wisconsin)
NWL post-season awards:
MVP: Ben Moore (Alexandria)
Pitcher of the year: Jack Fischer (Wisconsin)
Manager of the year: Andy McKay (La Crosse)
Coach of the year: Joe Potulny (La Crosse)
Best playing surface: Kapco Park (Lakeshore)
Play-by-play announcers of the year (tie): Doug Raftery (Eau Claire), Michael Broskowski (Rochester)
