Pearland HS star Clay Hensley holds down Padres

Pearland High School graduate Clay Hensley did his job perfectly out of the bullpen, as the San Francisco Giants downed the San Diego Padres 7-1 Monday.

Hensley struck out one batter in one key inning pitched, the eighth.

On the season, Hensley is 3-3, with two saves, and 30 strikeouts. Hensley as a 3.31 ERA.

Hensley attended Lamar University in Beaumont, where he set a single season record with 127 strikeouts in 100 innings.

Hensley was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the eighth round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. On July 13, 2003, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for Matt Herges.

A native of Tomball, Hensley set a Lamar single-game and an SLC Tournament single-game record by striking out 17 Texas-Arlington batters in the Cardinals 5-3 win. He also pitched one inning with two strikeouts to earn the save in Lamar's 5-4 win over Northwestern State in the SLC Tournament championship game. He set a new SLC Tournament record with 19 strikeouts and earned MVP honors for his efforts.