The Clay Blue Devils will head out to challenge the Creekside Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Clay's pitching crew has only allowed 3.4 runs per game this season, so Creekside's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Clay took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 9-4 win over Middleburg. The victory continues a trend for the Blue Devils in their matchups with the Broncos: they've now won eight in a row.
Clay got a great performance from Rylan McMahan as he struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
At the plate, Clay let Peyton McCrae and Cole Carnell run wild. McCrae scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Carnell scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. What's more, McCrae posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in February. LJ Martin was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Creekside and St. Joseph Academy meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Wednesday. Creekside walked away with an 8-5 win over St. Joseph Academy.
Nicholas Romeu looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Connor Balazic, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Zack Jackson, who went 3-for-5 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double.
Creekside always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .553. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Creekside pushed their record up to 12-7 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Clay, their record now sits at 12-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clay has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Creekside struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Clay came out on top in a nail-biter against Creekside when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. 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.
