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Finney County thumps Elkhart in both games of doubleheader
Published 6/30/2009 in Sports
By MIKE KESSINGER
Before he made an appearance on the mound two weeks ago, Arric Holmes hadn't pitched in a game in two years. After his second time as a pitcher this summer for the Finney County Blues on Monday against Elkhart, it might now be hard to keep him from starting again.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Finney County Blues' Arric Holmes slides into third base in the fourth inning of the first game of a doubleheader Monday against Elkhart at Academy Field.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Finney County Blues' Lupe Escobar makes contact on a pitch during a doubleheader Monday against Elkhart at Academy Field.
Through five innings in the first game at the Academy Field, Holmes threw a strong two hit, five strikeout shutout in the Blues 9-0 win. By the end he hadn't even given up a walk.
"I felt good," Holmes said after the Blues completed the sweep with a 10-0 win in the second game. "(As a team), I thought we played really well. We were hitting the ball and stealing bases."
The Blues blistered Elkhart with nine hits in the first game, then added eight more in the second game. Holmes, who had hit two home runs in a game against Ulysses that was completed just five days earlier, gave the Blues plenty offensive contributions against Elkhart.
Holmes went 2-for-3 in the first game with both hits being doubles. His second hit followed an inside-the-park grand slam by Josh Morales, who ran through coach Bill Powers' stop sign trying to get him to stop at third in the fourth inning. Powers was coaching the Blues in place of Don Griffin who was out of town at a camp with his son.
"I hit a couple of home runs in one of the last games we played, and I feel like my offense has been coming around," Holmes said.
Morales' four-run shot was all the scoring the Blues needed in the first game as Elkhart failed to score in the fifth with one runner stranded.
In the nightcap, the Blues went with Daniel Gutierrez on the mound. A starting pitcher at Garden City High School in the spring, Gutierrez matched Holmes' first game shutout. He gave up two hits and one walk in the game that concluded at the end of the fifth because of the run-rule. Gutierrez finished with four strikeouts.
Leading 4-0 through three innings, the Blues tacked on three runs in the fourth as Nathan Brungardt hit an RBI double to score Kole Milner, then a Brad Powers triple brought home Brungardt. Powers stole home for the final run of the inning.
Finney County put the game away in the fifth as Gutierrez scored on a wild pitch and Lupe Escobar followed him home on an errant throw from the catcher than went out to the pitching mound with no one there.
The Blues will have one more doubleheader before the Jim Clanton Tournament that starts Friday in Garden City. Finney County travels to Hooker, Okla. for a doubleheader that starts at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
"I think we should do really well in the tournament," Holmes said. "There are a couple of tough teams, but I think we can take them."
Game 1
Blues 9, Elkhart 0 (5 innings)
| Elkhart | 000 | 00 | — 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Finney Co. | 211 | 5x | — 9 | 9 | 1 |
Holmes and Thackery. W - Holmes. 2B — FC, Brungardt, Powers, Holmes (2). HR — FC, Morales.
Game 2
Blues 10, Elkhart 0 (5 Innings)
| Elkhart | 000 | 00 | — 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Finney Co. | 310 | 33 | — 10 | 8 | 1 |
Gutierrez and Thackery. W — Gutierrez. 2B — FC, Brungardt (2). 3B — FC, Morales, Powers.
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