Holly Springs baseball makes best of hits in win over Apex
Holly Springs clawed out three runs on just three hits for a 3-1 win over visiting Apex baseball Friday night.
After having just one batter reach base in the first three innings, the Golden Hawks finally figured out Cougars pitcher Jake Gregory.
Patrick Wheeler and Alex Simpson led off the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles, and with one out, pitcher Jake Isbell had an RBI groundout to tie the game. During Camden Munise’s at-bat, a passed ball allowed pinch-runner Trevor Johnson to score from third for what turned out to be the game-winning run.
“I guess we got (hits) at the right time,” said Holly Springs coach Rod Whitesell. “We did some good things. Runners on third with less than two outs and twice we scored on ground balls. That’s something we work on every day and we were able to execute. The two hits to get the (fourth) inning going were huge.”
Isbell earned the complete-game victory after a bit of shaky start. After a leadoff groundout, Isbell allowed a James Hooks’ single, then hit Jordan Mann. Esteban Valencia had an RBI groundout to give the Cougars a quick 1-0 lead before Isbell settled in.
“I just had to keep throwing strikes. They’re going to hit into some outs, so I have to keep throwing strikes,” said Isbell.
Jake Gregory took the loss for the Cougars. Gregory had three strikeouts and hit a batter.
They said it
“Luckily we got on to him (Jake Gregory). He threw well, and we got on him in the fourth inning, and we knew with Jake on the mound, we can get out of here with a win.” – Holly Springs catcher Alex Simpson
Turning point
In the fourth inning, following two singles, the Golden Hawks scored with a groundout and a pass ball.
By the numbers
0: Walks issued by Jake Isbell and James Gregory.
1: Double plays turned. Following a force out at second base, C.J. Conrad grounded into a 5-4-3 double play in the sixth inning for Apex
2: Two official at-bats for Apex’s Jordan Mann who had two singles. His other at-bat, he was hit by a pitch in the first inning. He was on the only batter not to record an out.
This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Holly Springs baseball makes best of hits in win over Apex."