Nine batters up, nine batters down. Matt Grom, pitcher for the Lawrence Lightning, recorded a perfect three innings of work Friday against the Giants at Youth Sports Inc. fields.

The 11-year-old Lightning pitcher avoided walking any Giant batters and recorded five strikeouts, leading the Lightning to an 18-9 victory.

While Grom handcuffed Giant batters, the Lightning offense took control knocking in four runs in each of the first three innings. Reece Conklin led the way with two sharp liners enabling a couple of Lightning runners to cross home plate.

Along with live bats, the Lightning offense used their speed and athleticism on the bases to put pressure on the Giant’s defense.

“We played really well today,” an enthusiastic Grom said. “We were able to get a lot of big hits.”

The tide slowly turned when Sean Cesare took to the mound in relief work for the Giants. After watching the Giants give up 12 runs in three innings, Cesare held down the fort for the Giant defense and retired three consecutive Lightning batters in the fourth. Cesare was able to ring up two strikeouts and a pop out, enabling a reeling Giants team to regroup for the bottom half of the inning.

The Giant offense came alive in the fourth off the bats of Brady Adams and Corban Heston. Heston opened the inning with a single and later stole home for the Giants’ first run of the game. Three batters later, Adams roped a ball to the left-field fence for a stand-up triple and brought in a run. The inning ended with the Giants putting four runs on the board and cutting the margin to 12-4.

The Lightning bench looks on intently in their game against the Giants on Friday at Youth Sports Inc.

To go along with a hot bat, Heston flashed a couple of web gem nominees to slow down the Lightning offense. Both catches found Heston hustling into foul territory with the ball hanging in the tip of his mitt.

However, the Lightning offense could not be silenced for long. With runners on second and third in the fifth inning, Tyler Johnson came through with a single bringing in the runs and rallying the Lightning for a couple of insurance runs.

Despite the lopsided score, the Giants were able to outscore the Lightning 9-8 in the last three innings of the game. However, with Grom as the difference maker, the Lightning was able to tally up too many runs early on for the Giants to overcome.