The Clay Blue Devils will head out on the road to take on the Mandarin Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Clay barely beat Menendez the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Clay put the hurt on Menendez with a sharp 10-2 win on Friday. The victory was familiar territory for the Blue Devils, who have now won three contests in a row.
Sadie Russo spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on seven hits. Furthermore, she didn't allow a single walk, the first time she has blanked an opponent since back in February.
Kaelye Rouw
| 03/28/25 vs Menendez | 3 |
| 03/11/25 vs Fleming Island | 2 |
| 02/27/25 @ Orange Park | 2 |
| 04/25/24 vs St. Augustine | 2 |
| 04/04/24 @ Ridgeview | 2 |
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kaelye Rouw, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one triple. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high. Brooke Hamilton was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, Mandarin made sure to put some runs up on the board against Christ's Church Academy on Thursday. Mandarin was the clear victor by an 18-3 margin over Christ's Church Academy.
Mandarin let Ryleigh Booth and MaKayla Oxley run wild. Booth went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, four RBI, and one double, while Oxley scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances. That stolen base marked the first that Oxley snagged this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Alanna DeJesus, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4.
Mandarin always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .700. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Clay's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-4. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Mandarin, the win got them back to even at 7-7.
Clay might still be hurting after the 12-1 loss they got from Mandarin when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Clay avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
