Holt ousts defending champ Olivet in Diamond Classic quarterfinals

Holt junior pitcher Mitchell Dubois was excellent on the mound in Holt's Diamond Classic opening win over Portland St. Patrick – a 9-2 victory in a resumed game from Monday that finished up ahead of Thursday's two quarterfinals.

Having to play again later in the night, Dubois didn't start Holt's quarterfinal against defending Diamond Classic champion Olivet. That job went to sophomore Luke Redd, who allowed just one run in four innings of work in the Rams' 4-1 victory.

Instead, Dubois first did his damage at the plate, driving in two runs on a base hit to center field to give Holt a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Then, in a high-leverage spot leading 4-1 in the sixth, Dubois was called upon to close it out and allowed just one baserunner in the final two innings to send the defending champions home early.

"I told (Dubois) I don't care how he hits, just that he's pitching well because it's all about pitching and defense," Holt coach Keith Allen said. "That's our MO, being scrappy, playing defense and pitching well. On the offensive side, all of that is just icing on the cake whatever he does there."

In order to get into the Diamond Classic field, Holt needed to beat Olivet 11 days ago. Holt accomplished that feat, winning 3-0 at Olivet to earn a spot in the tournament.

"It feels great to come out here as a team, after beating them on their field, to do it again and get the job finished, It's a great feeling," Dubois said. "The confidence is high, the momentum is really moving going into next week and we're ready to play some ball."

Holt scored one run on three hits in the first inning to get off to a good start before the Dubois single plated two more. Holt would add another run on an RBI single from junior Ethan Walter to extend the cushion.

Holt (15-11) moves onto Wednesday's semifinal where it will face DeWitt (11-6-1). The Panthers swept Holt in mid-April — now the Rams get a chance at some revenge in a big-time setting.

"Whoever is in front of us, we're going to grind. This was a big win for us," Allen said. "The kids worked all season for this. They've preached about being a family and getting to McLane. They had to be gritty to get there, and now we'll have DeWitt who is a good team with a lot of good arms and we'll have our hands full."

Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on Twitter @Nathaniel_Bott

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Holt ousts defending champ Olivet in Diamond Classic quarterfinals