The Clay-Battelle Cee-Bees will head out to square off against the Beallsville Blue Devils at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. The last three games Clay-Battelle has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
While Clay-Battelle didn't have the best season last year (they finished 3-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Magnolia on Thursday, sneaking past 6-4. The Cee-Bees haven't had any issues with the Blue Eagles recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Cameron Mercer
| 04/17/25 vs Magnolia | 2 |
| 04/14/25 vs Cameron | 1 |
| 04/11/25 vs Trinity Christian | 1 |
| 04/02/25 vs Valley | 1 |
Cameron Mercer and Kooper Statler made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Mercer pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Statler struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. Mercer has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. At the plate, Mercer went 1-for-4 with one triple and one run, while Statler went a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run. Those two doubles gave Statler a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ryan Parker, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Parker Bane, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Clay-Battelle was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Magnolia only posted a batting average of .167.
Meanwhile, the third road contest was the charm for Beallsville, as they earned their first away win of the season. They came out on top against Valley by a score of 5-2 on Thursday. Five seems to be a good number for the Blue Devils as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Hunter Cole spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up 11 Ks.
On the hitting side, Ryan Dornon was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with four stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Chaz Gasser also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen bases of the season.
Clay-Battelle pushed their record up to 8-3 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.6 runs over those games. As for Beallsville, their win ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-5.
Beallsville's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Clay-Battelle hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .380. It's a different story for Beallsville, though, as they've only averaged .205. Will they be able to contain Clay-Battelle's hitters?
Clay-Battelle came out on top in a nail-biter against Beallsville when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 6-4. Will the Cee-Bees repeat their success, or do the Blue Devils have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
