The Clay Blue Devils will venture away from home to square off against the Bishop Snyder Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Clay's pitching crew has only allowed 3.4 runs per game this season, so Bishop Snyder's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Clay took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They walked away with an 8-4 victory over Suncoast.
Clay got a great performance from Gabriel Barker as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. Those six strikeouts gave Barker a new career-high.
Merrick Rapoza
| 03/28/25 vs Suncoast | 2 |
| 03/27/25 @ Creekside | 1 |
| 03/25/25 vs Middleburg | 1 |
| 03/05/25 vs Bishop Kenny | 1 |
| 02/21/25 vs Baker County | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Merrick Rapoza, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of LJ Martin, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Bishop Snyder had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 10-9 W against the Bulldogs.
Lewis Turner looked comfortable as he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Tanner Upton was incredible, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Jack Perry, who scored two runs and stole a base.
Bishop Snyder's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-5. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Clay, their record now sits at 13-7.
Everything went Clay's way against Bishop Snyder in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, as Clay made off with a 12-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Clay since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
