The Clay Blue Devils will venture away from home to take on the Fleming Island Golden Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Clay took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They blew past Bradford 11-1. The Blue Devils haven't had any issues with the Tornadoes recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Clay got a great performance from Sadie Russo as she tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Russo has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kaelye Rouw, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Hailey Hackett, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Clay always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .567. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bradford only posted an OBP of .211.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Fleming Island). They were the clear victors by a 19-2 margin over Providence School on Tuesday. The win was nothing new for the Golden Eagles as they're now sitting on three straight.
Brooke Wilson made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Wilson was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-5. That's the most hits she has posted since back in May of 2024.
In other batting news, Fleming Island got a massive performance out of Ashlyn Madine, who went a perfect 5-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. The dominant performance also gave Madine a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Bailee Wadley, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4.
Clay's victory was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-7. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Fleming Island, their record now sits at 12-6.
Clay's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's contest. The Blue Devils have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.6 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Fleming Island, though, as they've been averaging only 0.9 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Clay continue to outrun the ball?
Clay was able to grind out a solid victory over Fleming Island in their previous meeting back in March, winning 8-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blue Devils since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
