The Clay Blue Devils will square off against the Oakleaf Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Clay will be strutting in after a victory while Oakleaf will be coming in after a defeat.
Clay is headed into the game having just posted their closest win since April 28, 2025 on Saturday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Lincoln 4-3.
Conner McGuckin was excellent, going 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2025. JC Rosette was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Meanwhile, Oakleaf was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a 4-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of Chiles. The contest marked the Knights' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Jeremiah Renaldo was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits.
On the hitting side, Oakleaf saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Reggie Keeton, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one double and one RBI. That double marked the first that Keeton has hit this season.
Oakleaf's defeat dropped their record down to 2-5. As for Clay, the win got them back to even at 3-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clay has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oakleaf struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Clay got the 'W' when the teams last played back in February of 2025 against Oakleaf by a conclusive 7-1 score. Do the Blue Devils have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Knights turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
