Baseball Game Preview: Clay Blue Devils vs. Tocoi Creek Toros

Blue Devils

Runs

03/07/25 vs St. Johns Country Day	2
03/05/25 vs Bishop Kenny	14
03/04/25 vs Episcopal School of Jacksonville	3
03/01/25 vs Mary Persons	5
02/28/25 @ South Paulding	10
+ 7 more games

The Clay Blue Devils are taking a road trip to challenge the Tocoi Creek Toros at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Clay is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.9 runs per game this season.

Clay is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering St. Johns Country Day just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of the Spartans by a score of 3-2. Having soared to a lofty 14 runs in the game before, the Blue Devils couldn't push the score so high this time.

Clay saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Easton McMahan, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. LJ Martin also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Meanwhile, Tocoi Creek came up short against St. Augustine on Friday and fell 7-4.

Tocoi Creek also got a good showing from Wyatt Faircloth, who tossed 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Faircloth has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single hit any time he's pitched this season.

At the plate, Nate Wade was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Chase Pate was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.

Tocoi Creek's loss ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Clay, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-3.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clay has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Tocoi Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Clay couldn't quite finish off Tocoi Creek when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can Clay avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.