The Clay Blue Devils will face off against the Baker County Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Clay will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each contest than the last.
Clay is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Riverside with a sharp 18-3 victory. The Blue Devils' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
The team relied heavily on LJ Martin, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That home run marked the first that he launched this season. Easton McMahan was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one home run and three RBI.
Martin wasn't the only one making solid contact: Clay kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in five consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, while Baker County put up some runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for ED White. The Wildcats were the clear victors by a 10-0 margin over the Commanders. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wildcats.
Blane Chauncey tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Baker County is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 6-14 otherwise.
At the plate, Hank Dyal was a standout: he scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-3. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Wesley Crockett, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Clay has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Baker County, their record is now 10-14.
Everything went Clay's way against Baker County in their previous meeting back in February, as Clay made off with an 8-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blue Devils since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
