By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

He got the pitch he wanted, a fastball over the heart of the plate.

And as he’s done often this season, LaGrange High’s Jon McRae didn’t let a hittable pitch go to waste.

With his team already up by four runs, McRae put the exclamation mark on Tuesday’s 12-4 victory over Griffin with a towering grand slam that cleared the left-field fence with plenty of room to spare.

It was the second home run of the game for McRae, a center fielder who is having a terrific senior season.

McRae’s grand slam came on the first pitch he faced in a sixth inning that saw the Grangers score seven runs to turn a one-run game into a blowout.

“I was hoping for that situation,” McRae said. “I was already pumped up.”

While McRae was the hitting hero, senior Noah Hull continued to shine on the mound with a complete game against a Griffin team that played for the Class AAAA state title last season.

“I like guys where I know what I’m going to get, and I don’t have any doubt when I put him (Hull) out there what I’m going to get,” LaGrange head coach Donnie Branch said. “I’m going to get a guy around the zone who changes speed. He’s just a pitcher.”

Hull was reeling a bit after giving up a two-run home run with one out in the top of the fifth that put the Grangers in a 4-3 hole, but he didn’t allow a run the rest of the way.

“He just grinds it out,” said Branch. “He hits spots, and he competes. I thought he did a great job. And we made some real good plays behind him.”

Hull’s teammates made sure the effort wouldn’t go for naught.

The Grangers took the lead in the bottom of the fifth, with Joseph Mansour knocking in one run with a sacrifice fly, and Tristian Johnson driving in the go-ahead run with a base hit.

Drew Hagler had a base hit in the inning, and Noah Hull added a double.

After Hagler threw a would-be base stealer out in the top of the sixth to end a potential scoring threat, the Grangers exploded in the bottom of the inning.

Mike Bryan got the scoring parade started with a base hit, and he later scored on a wild pitch. Mansour came through with another RBI single, and after Johnson walked to load the bases, McRae walked to the plate with a couple of outs and the bags full.

He wasn’t thinking home run, he just wanted to “get some good bat on the ball.”

Branch said McRae, who struggled a bit as a junior, has been doing that all season.

“I’m very glad for him. It was very, very tough on him last year,” Branch said. “He’s been good all year. If he has a game where he doesn’t square one up, he gets two the next game.”

The Grangers cracked the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the third inning.

Rodney Tolbert led off with a single, and he later scored on a Mansour groundout.

Matt Pauley, who was running for catcher Drew Hagler, scored on an error.

After Griffin tied it with two runs in the fourth, McRae led off the bottom of the fourth with an opposite-field home run that cleared the right-field fence.

After a Griffin two-run home run in the top of the fifth, the Grangers responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning.

Branch was happy for McRae, but he was also pleased with the team’s ability to play small ball.

“We executed offensively,” Branch said. “We got them on, and we got them over.”

LaGrange is scheduled to host Brookwood at 6 p.m. today at LaGrange College’s Cleaveland Field.