Grant Holmes strikes out 14 as Clinton picks up key win over Germantown
CLINTON — Grant Holmes was a one-wrecking crew for Clinton.
Holmes went two-for-three at the plate with a homer and was also the winning pitcher in the Arrows' 6-1 win over Germantown in the the first game of their key Region 4-6A series Tuesday night at Arrow Field.
Clinton (12-8, 4-3 Region 4-6A) and Germantown (12-8, 4-3) will play Game 2 of the series at 7 p.m. Friday night at Germantown and Game 3 Saturday back at Clinton.
“(Grant) was on tonight and he really deserved an outing like that,” said Clinton coach Sam Temple. “Our district is so tough, so it’s good to get the first one in this series.”
Holmes got the Arrows on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a sacrifice fly to center to give Clinton a 1-0 lead.
He followed that with a RBI double in the fifth to right center to extend the Arrow lead to 2-0. Clinton added two more runs in the frame on a RBI infield single by Ethan Wiggins and a fielder’s choice groundout.
The Arrows scored their final two runs in the sixth as Cole Manuel had a sacrifice fly and Holmes tacked the scoring with a solo home run to center to give Clinton a 6-0 lead.
“The guys executed the plan we had in place tonight,” Temple said. “We believe being a hitting ball club and we’ve got a philosophy of how we do things and the kids are buying into it and doing it at the right time.”
Holmes (3-2), a Hinds Community College signee, tossed 6.1 innings, scattered three hits with one walk and a career-high 14 strikeouts.
“Going into the game, I felt good and just tried to throw strikes and see if they could hit my fast ball,” Holmes said. “Throwing strikes early and we played great defensively, so I was confident. Coach Temple teaches us to battle at the plate and we did that tonight.”
J.P. Robertson (6-1) took the loss on the mound for Germantown. The Mavericks lone run came in the seventh.
“Their pitcher absolutely dominated us. Hats off to him,” said Germantown coach Brian Hardy. “We got to bounce back at home on Friday cause this is a playoff type series, so we need to have a better outing hitting.”
