Timmy Holdgrafer, enjoying a senior year with all his baseball skills coming together, is captaining the Viking flagship with steals of home, two-hit pitching gems, and all the other things he contributes as an every-game player who ably handles any position in the field La Jolla coach Gary Frank chooses to assign him to.
Holdgrafer, batting leadoff, repeatedly makes his steals and attempted steals of home an issue with opposing pitchers, who get edgy when he is leading off third base.
Meanwhile, Timmy, who is 5-1 on the mound, with his only loss coming on a four-hitter against Madison last week when his own team was blanked 1-0 and held to four hits by Imani Abdullah, is tearing up the cowhide on offense.
The slender 6-footer is hitting .377, with a likewise team-leading 11 RBI's and 11 runs scored. His 23 hits far out-distance any teammate. He went two-for-three with an RBI in the win over Bishop's Fri., April 17.
The right-hander showed his real grit in the last game of pool play in the Lions Tournament April 1. Called on by Frank to relieve Weston Clark in the seventh inning against Patrick Henry in a game the Vikings had to win to go to the semifinals, Holdgrafer, on 48 hours rest, closed the door on the Patriots.
Holdgrafer started the season at shortstop on days he wasn't filling his usual Monday day in the pitching rotation. Then Frank has moved him to outfield positions, as well. Asked earlier in the season about playing Holdgrafer at all nine positions in one game, Frank said, "Yeah, it's hard playing only seven innings in high school. But we've done it with players in the past."
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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