Holden Martin rolled out of bed and took a look outside.

Cold. Windy. Rainy.

Perfect.

Martin, the ace pitcher for the Karns City baseball team, prefers to pitch when the weather is poor and he got his wish Thursday afternoon on a raw and damp day at Kelly Automotive Park.

“It was one of those days where just walking into the ballpark — gloomy day — those are days I love to pitch in,” Martin said, smiling. “Hitters don't like to hit when it's cold. So I feel like it gives me an advantage.

“I saw the forecast,” Martin added. “And I knew it was going to be a good day.”

For Martin, the colder the better.

“I should go play in Alaska,” he quipped.

While it wasn't quite that cold, Martin kept the Cranberry bats in the freezer in a 10-3 win.

Martin gave up just four hits and struck out eight in seven innings of work. He was efficient, needing just 90 pitches for his complete-game victory.

“He was under where we try to keep him for his pitch count,” said Karns City coach Randy Collins. “Usually, he goes to a lot of full counts. He did well spotting the ball and setting hitters up. He and (catcher Cullen Williams) are working great together.”

And they are inseparable.

Martin said he and Williams eat lunch together and share several classes during the day. They often discuss strategy for the upcoming game while in school.

“The teachers don't like that too much,” Martin said.

They also sit together in the dugout between innings and compare notes.

“The first time through the lineup, we get a feel for what the hitters like and don't like,” Martin said. “Then we adjust from there.”

Martin's approach was simple against a Cranberry team that was hitting well coming into the game.

The Berries came in averaging nearly 10 runs per game.

“Today I knew this team was going to hit the ball. They've put up some big runs on teams we've struggled against, so I was just focusing on attacking the strike zone,” Martin said. “I was missing bats all night. That was nice.”

Martin cruised through the first three innings as Karns City (9-4) built a 4-0 lead. That lead swelled to 6-1 after five innings before Martin ran into his only real trouble in the top of the sixth.

The senior right-hander was having trouble gripping the ball on a soggy day.

“I was surprised we got this game in,” Collins said. “We brought a lot of baseballs to keep switching them in and out.”

Cranberry (7-2) scored two runs on a pair of sacrifice flies in the inning.

Karns City, though, squashed the Berries' comeback hopes with a four-run bottom of the sixth inning, keyed by a two-run double by Nolan Riley.

Evan Stitt and Hunter Schaffner each had RBI triples and Tyler Yough had a pinch-hit, two-run single in the sixth for the Gremlins.

Karns City was coming off a disappointing 4-2 loss to Clarion Tuesday.

“The big hits will come when you start contacting the ball and seeing the ball,” Collins said. “When you have guys in scoring position, you just have to put it in the outfield or put it through the infield. Tuesday against Clarion, we weren't doing that. That was very atypical of us, so it was good to see us come back and do that.”

Cranberry 000 102 0 — 3 4 4

Karns City 202 204 x — 10 10 1

W: Holden Martin 7IP (8K, 2BB). L: Tommy Flinspach 3.1IP (5K, 2BB).

Cranberry (7-2): Austin Rex 1B, Tyler Gustafson 1B, Brendan Zerbe 2-RBI, Jake Felmlee 1B RBI, Nick Varsek 1B

Karns City (9-4): Jace Ebbit 1B, Martin 1B, Evan Stitt 3B 1B RBI, Cullen Williams RBI, Hunter Schaffner 3B 1B 2-RBI, Marcus Lantz 1B RBI, Tyler Yough 1B 2-RBI, Nolan Riley 1B 2B 2-RBI

Today: Keystone at Karns City