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Pitcher Julian Loret de Mola tosses complete game five-hitter in Cats victory

THUNDER BAY – Julian Loret de Mola found throwing strikes, pitching to contact and letting his defence back him up is an effective recipe for success.
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Border Cats hitter Jared James rounds the bases after his first inning home run on Saturday, which proved to be the winning run in his club's 3-0 victory over the Waterloo Bucks. (James Mirabelli)

THUNDER BAY – Julian Loret de Mola found throwing strikes, pitching to contact and letting his defence back him up is an effective recipe for success.

The Thunder Bay Border Cats starter scattered five hits through nine innings of work, finishing with a complete game shutout as his club blanked the Waterloo Bucks 3-0 in their Northwoods League affair at Tbaytel Park at Port Arthur Stadium on Saturday night.

“I was getting ahead with all my pitches,” Loret de Mola said. “My changeup was a really good pitch for me (Saturday) and it kept hitters off balance.”

Loret de Mola (2-1) struck out five and allowed a pair of walks in what was the team’s finest pitching performance of the season and comes just two days after fellow starter Kyle Von Ruden tossed a complete game.

Border Cats manager Danny Benedetti praised his pitcher’s ability to mix up his fastball, changeup and curveball to keep the hitters guessing throughout the contest.

“He was phenomenal on the mound throwing strikes, getting guys out and pitching to contact I think was the key to his success. The defence played really well behind him,” Benedetti said.

“It was pretty fun to watch him on the mound. It was spectacular.”

Loret de Mola received some run support right from the beginning, as Border Cats leadoff batter Jared James got the home side on the board with a line drive home run that found the right field pole.

The right-hander cruised from there, retiring the first seven Bucks hitters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning.

“He was just out there focused on each batter from pitch to pitch and inning to inning to batter to batter,” Benedetti said.

“You could tell how focused he was by how locked in he was on every pitch. When he made a mistake he made an adjustment on the next pitch.”

Loret de Mola was backed up by flashy fielding, especially from shortstop Matt Batten and second baseman Tyler Coolbaugh, who each executed a number of tough grounders into outs.

The Border Cats bats provided some additional run support in the fourth, courtesy of a run-scoring double by Grant McKown followed two batters later with a single from Matt Batten that plated another run.

Loret De Mola allowed a pair of baserunners in the fifth but held his own to escape unscathed and rebounded by only allowing one to reach base over the next three innings.

With two outs in the ninth, Waterloo looked to threaten with a pair of two-out singles that brought the tying run to the plate but Loret de Mola forced Mikal Hill to ground out to second to cap the shutout.

For the Border Cats (14-17), while they are out of the first half North Division hunt these last few games before the season resets are a valuable opportunity to establish some momentum.

“If we can get the momentum going and these guys with their confidence it can be fun to watch. This team, on paper, is pretty good compared to all the other teams in the league,” he said.

Claw marks: Attendance was announced at 590...Loret de Mola earned Northwoods League pitcher of the night honours for his start...The RBI for McKown was his 20th of the season, putting him in a tie with Nate Nolan for the team lead, with the two sitting fifth in the league...The home run was the first of the season for James...The Cats and Bucks conclude their two-game series on Sunday at Tbaytel Park at Port Arthur Stadium with the opening pitch scheduled for 5:05 p.m.





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