That the LaGrange Grangers managed to win a game where they had just two hits was a testament to the outstanding performance of senior pitcher Mitchell Donahue.

The Grangers were unable to get much going offensively against a pair of Russell County pitchers Thursday night, but it didn’t matter, not with the left-handed Donahue on the mound.

The senior pitched a complete game, and he allowed just six hits and did a terrific job of working out of trouble when it arose.

“He showed a lot of maturity,” LaGrange head coach Todd Herrington said. “I’m really proud of him. And (the defense) made some really good plays behind him.”

It was Donahue’s first start of the season, and it came against a stellar Russell County team that is a perennial championship contender in Alabama.

Donahue, who earlier this year signed a letter of intent to play for Point University, said he didn’t try to do anything special, and he also relied heavily on senior catcher Price Peters.

“I just stuck to my stuff and trusted it and worked with it,” Donahue said. “I worked my spots, and I had a lot of help from Price.”

Donahue faced a few trouble spots in the game.

Russell County had base runners in every inning except for the third, but with the exception of a single run in the sixth, it was unable to get anything done against Donahue.

“It was a good game. They’re a great fundamental team,” Donahue said. “My stuff was good, and I just trusted it.”

Drew Moody came into the season as an established starter, and Herrington is looking for someone to nail down one of the other starting spots.

Herrington is hopeful Donahue can be that guy, and he certainly looked the part on Thursday.

“We’ve got to have that out of him,” Herrington said. “That’s what we were hoping for out of this tournament was to find that other pitcher. And tonight, he showed what he can do. He just has to repeat it.”