Mr. Clutch: Newburyport's Holmes has sparked team's resurgence

NEWBURYPORT — Similar to the Nike ad campaign "Witness" that launched the career of LeBron James, fans of Newburyport athletics have witnessed the launching stardom of local three-sport standout Kevin Holmes.

A junior, Holmes has emerged as one of the school's top all-around performers in golf, hockey and baseball, putting up top raw numbers in each sport.

This spring, Holmes has become perhaps the baseball team's best all-around hitter with a .391 average (second on the team), while also showing some pop (team-leading six doubles).

His sudden arrival from a junior varsity player last spring to an impact player this season might be a surprise to coaches around the Cape Ann League. But according to Clippers coach Bill Pettingell, Holmes has not been flying under the radar in the Newburyport program.

"We have know all about Kevin, but he was a sophomore a year ago and we had a senior-laden ball club," Pettingell said. "We could've brought him up at the end, but I wanted him right where he was — leading the JVs in hitting and getting his 50 to 60 at bats to build up his confidence.

"To me he's not a surprise, but to the league he probably is," Pettingell said. "It's not an exaggeration, but I expected him to be one of our top three hitters despite the fact we had three returning starters (Tyler Stotz, Richie Burke, Kyle LeBlanc) because I think he's one of the top two or three athletes in the school and one of the best all-around athletes at Newburyport in the last 10 years."

His hockey coach Paul Yameen was in complete agreement with Pettingell, saying that Holmes' hard work both in season and during the offseason has paid dividends.

"You could see it coming. He had an injury that held him back a bit last year, but as he has physically matured he's put in the hard work to make himself better," Yameen said. "Like the old adage says: Hard work pays off. To me. I think Kevin is so physically gifted that if he chose to play football, he would also be one of the best football players. But he's made a nice little path for himself in golf. He's got such good eye-hand coordination and athletic ability that he's good at virtually all sports he puts time into."

Halfway through the baseball season, Pettingell's prediction appears to be coming to fruition.

Despite a team-wide, slow 1-4 start where Holmes slumped to only three hits and a sub-.200 batting average, Holmes and the Clippers have heated up as of late. In the last nine games, the Clippers (8-6 overall, 6-2 CAL) have won seven of nine games to jump right back in the hunt for a title. Although the team as a whole has been more productive at the plate, Holmes has shown a tendency for the dramatic, picking up three game-winning hits in that span.

"It all started for Kevin in our second Amesbury win when he picked up two hits in our 2-0 win," Pettingell said. "Since then, he's had one, two or three hits in every game," said Pettingell. "As his (nine-game hitting streak) has gone, our game has picked up, and though it's not just him, it's also not a coincidence because he's had big hits in all of those games."

According to Holmes, during the rough early stretch he was striking out a lot. But after a simple piece of advice, everything has come together.

"I struck out a bunch earlier," said Holmes. "But when coach told me to minimize my strikeouts, choke up on the bat, refuse to strikeout, and put the ball in play, my hitting started to fall in place."

In Pettingell's opinion, Holmes' success can be attributed to two directly related aspects: a better attitude and more self-confidence.

"The maturity, the change, and the success he's had are about two things," Pettingell said. "His attitude this year has been so much better because if he struck out, made an out or didn't score a year ago, he would get down on himself. But I think Coach Yameen did a good job of building up his confidence, and in baseball he got his confidence going to become a believer in himself."

With a stringent offseason workout program, Holmes said he has noticed the difference in the cage and at the plate.

"Last year, I had a shoulder injury that held me back a bit, but I think the offseason training has helped my hitting immensely," Holmes said. "I have much more power and speed, and basically it's helped everything."

As for the flair for the dramatic (hockey fans remember Holmes also scored the game-winning goal over Gloucester in the EMass. Division 2 North quarterfinal), Holmes said it has been a bit of being in the right place at the right time as well as wanting to be the guy.

"I like the pressure situations. I want to be the guy at bat or out on the ice, because for me it's what sports is all about," Holmes said. "As a team we're in a bit of a groove and we've got some games coming up that could give us some momentum. We've got a good pitching staff, we're starting to hit the ball, and now we're starting to win."

Photos

After a slow start to his varsity career this spring, Newburyport junior Kevin Holmes, a three-sport star, is enjoying a nine-game hitting streak. The Clippers, in turn, are enjoying a hot streak as a team, too. Staff photo