GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Jackson Holmes has been good as of late.
The right-handed from Saint Louis University threw 6 2/3 innings of one-run baseball in Tuesday’s win over Bluefield. However, nobody could have been prepared for what happened on Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Park.
He fired a no-hitter against Greenville in Sunday's seven-inning game, allowing just one walk and one hit-by-pitch while striking out eight batters to put his name in the Appalachian League history books.
The River Riders gave him support offensively. In the third inning, Avery Owusu-Asiedu continued his torrid stretch with an RBI single before later in the inning Ty Peters hit an RBI sacrifice fly to score another. Then in the fourth, Brendan Jones ripped a double into the right-center field gap and plate another, making it 3-0.
You could feel it building all afternoon, but the seventh was truly the make-or-break point.
Holmes started the inning with a strikeout, and then with one out, Jack O’Reilly hit a drive into right-center field, but Owusu-Asiedu showed fantastic range into the gap to preserve the no-hitter. Aidan Cannaday then stepped up and hit a ground ball to Peters who threw to Alex McCoy for the third out as the whole team stormed the mound to celebrate.
The River Riders are back at home after an off day Monday for a home game Tuesday against the Bristol State Liners at 7 p.m. You can watch the game live at https://appalachianleague.univtec.com.
