THUNDER BAY – Joe Ellison has a pretty good idea the type of team he’s built to tackle the Northwoods League competition this season.
It’s going to start with the glove and on the mound.
Ellison, the first-year Thunder Bay Border Cats manager, takes the reins of a team that ranked in the bottom third on defence last season, making 97 errors in 69 games, the team failing to capture either the first- or second-half titles in the Great Plains East Division.
“I think we’re going to play very strong defence,” said Ellison, whose team kicks off its 20th season on Monday night on the road against the Eau Claire Express.
“I think we’re going to pitch it pretty well. We got some guys that throw pretty hard. We’ve got guys who can throw really great off-speed stuff. Then offensively, we’re going to have to play a fast brand of baseball here at our field. I mean, as long as the wind’s blowing in, which it does typically off the lake, we’re going to have to play fast, we’re going to have play hard and do some fundamental baseball stuff to win baseball games.”
Ellison, who inherited the job from former manager J.M. Kelly, takes over a roster with a number of familiar faces on board, including team captain Trey Fikes, outfielder Ty Hamilton, second baseman Greg LaChance and pitchers Parker Burgess and Griffin Cato.
It’s a good base to build upon, said the first-year manager, who like 15 of the players on the opening-day roster, hails from Canada, Toronto specifically.
Familiarity helps with the adjustment on and off the field, Ellison said.
“They understand the rigours of the league and the community,” he said. “It helps us understand our community a little bit better and what we’re playing for and gives us a little bit more depth right off the start.”
Fikes said it could be a real advantage in the early stages of the 2025 campaign.
“We had a really good season last year we’re just looking to capitalize on it and add to what we did last year,” said the second-year backstop, who hit .295 with two home runs and 14 RBI in his first go around with the Border Cats.
“We had a really good team and I think we’ll have another really good team this year. The expectations are just to come out and compete every day and just stay locked in for all 70 games, that we can, and just have a good time while we’re out there.”
Ellison said he built the roster in part through the relationships he has with college coaches around the United States, and from his knowledge of the Canadian players as they advanced through high school ball.
He’ll be facing a shortened bench for the first few games, with just 23 players available, including temporary signee Porter Jorgenson of Thunder Bay, but the roster will fill out in relative short order, giving the team some fresh blood as the first half gets rolling.
At that point, Ellison said the team’s depth will help, especially on the pitching front, where openers may be the norm on many nights.
“I think one thing that is going to be a little different this is we’re going to try to utilize multiple players in single games. You’re not going to see traditional starters as often with us. You’re going to see more spread workloads. You’re going to see four, five, six players in a game contribute a small amount that hopefully leads to wins,” Ellison said.
The Cats home opener is scheduled for Wednesday night at Port Arthur Stadium against the Rochester Honkers.
