Clay Rally Stopped Short As Blue Devils Fall In 4A Semifinal

In the box score it goes down as a close loss in a big playoff game.

In the heart it is a difficult end to a dream so close to achieving.

But most of all to remember is that this experience is a testament to a team and a program that believes in doing things the right way, that the things you earn come from working harder and claiming accountability.

Tuesday morning the Clay Blue Devils were defeated 5-2 by the Jesuit Tigers to end their season. Yet for a team that struggled through a challenging losing streak, and had a losing record heading into the district playoffs, that final loss came at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, in the Class 4A state semifinal.

“There are a lot of different stories about our season not starting the way other people may have thought it was going to start,” Persinger said. “We ended up right where we thought we should end up.”

Clay rebounded for a ten-game winning streak at year’s end, blazing through the playoffs and earning the program’s third trip to the state Final Four tournament in chase of its first state title. The Blue Devils (19-14) won the district title, then endured the challenges of road venues and weather disruptions to stay the course and show exactly the type of team they are.

“It was awesome to get here. This is the first time these guys have been down here, and I think there is something to that,” Clay Manager Josh Persinger said. “Sometimes you play some of those teams that have been here and it is business as usual. I think we learned a lot and I’m extremely proud of our guys. Even in that last inning, we had them sweating bullets a little bit there. So it was nice to have them bounce back, and just to see the grit. I think we’re already planning our trip back down here next year.”

There is a mantra within the program, the school and the community, and it is called the Clay Way. It is a blue-collar, thick-skinned and tenacious way of conducting yourself.

“You mention the Clay Way, and other people don’t really know what that is until you get to be part of it,” Persinger said. “But it is just that, gritty. That stuff has been ingrained since I was a player, and passing that on is really what we try to get to these guys. Sometimes, the more talented we are, we lose that, and maybe that is from the top down because I am not calling the bunt enough and relying too much on the three-run home run. I felt like this year was going to be one of those old-school, gritty teams. After losing five in-a-row I started to second-guess myself, but we stayed the course and it was immediately as soon as we got through that gauntlet.”

The players and coaches took a hard look in the mirror when things got their worst and the season stood on the brink of being lost.

“It really started after the five-game losing streak that we had,” junior Rylan McMahan said. “That was bad and everybody was all torn up after that. But once we came together we figured out that we had no choice but to start winning games. We finally kicked it into gear a little bit, practices got a lot harder, but then the games got a lot easier as we were doing that. We just took it one step at a time from there.”

McMahan was key to that turnaround, and so it was no surprise that he got the call to start against the challenging Jesuit lineup in the biggest game of the season. Facing the Tigers for the second time this year, McMahan had a little more first-hand knowledge of the batters he would be facing than most pitchers get heading into the state tournament.

“After the first time we played them I figured out that they really couldn’t hit a curveball, so I already had that in my head coming in here,” McMahan said. “But today when I went out there, I really didn’t have my best stuff. I was trying everything I could with what I had today.”

Jesuit got to him early, scoring two runs in the first and adding on for a 4-0 lead after three innings. The Tigers were aggressive at the plate and kept McMahan working and staying out on the mound on this hot day.

“I kind of figured out that they were going to hit the ball no matter where I threw it, so it’s a matter of how I throw it and where I place it,” McMahan said. “So the pitch selection was to make them roll over, like they were doing.”

With Jesuit getting a second look at their ace, Coach Persinger noted that the Blue Devils will likely adjust that strategy in the future. But it was tough not to put your best on the mound, no matter how many times a star-studded lineup like Jesuit’s has seen him. McMahan piled up roughly fifty strikeouts during Clay’s playoff run while not allowing any earned runs. He took the ball in the big first games and put the club in the driver’s seat in every round.

“He’s been our guy, and we were actually joking about that I’ve known him since he was eleven years old and he uses the same size in his glove,” Persinger said. “He is definitely a special individual, and obviously the arm plays. As I tell everyone, he just walks through school and nobody even knows he is there. He’s hunting, fishing and hanging out with his friends, and he likes it that way. He doesn’t like all the publicity and all that, and he just goes out and he deals. For him to keep his composure and really keep us in the ball game was just phenomenal.”

The Blue Devils really had to work against Jesuit starter Kaden Waechter, who went the distance for the complete-game victory.

“He was definitely throwing a lot of first-pitch fastballs, so we started to jump on him a little bit later in the game,” junior catcher J.C. Rosette said of Waechter. “”We’ll talk to each other and see what he’s starting each other off with, how his curveball and slider looks. Today we definitely had better adjustments the second time through the lineup. Guys were getting a lot more barrels on the ball. But his stuff was definitely on today, and he was good.”

Clay ended the shutout and got on the scoreboard to finally get to Waechter in the top of the fourth. Rosette lined a single to center and McMahan followed with an RBI single to left.

The Blue Devils then made one last charge when down to their final three outs in the seventh. Lukas Moore led off with a base hit to left, McMahan reached on an error and Ethan Mathis got the ball in play to also reach on an error that allowed Moore to score.

“We were getting excited, because down 5-1 you might think the game is over but one guy gets on and suddenly that leads to more runners,” Rosette said. “We were definitely getting amped up, because one hit can change the game. We know that we start hitting later in the game, so when a team gets on us, some guys get down in the dugout but our main hitters stay in the game. That’s basically what brings us the success we were having.”

Waechter managed to induce an infield grounder to finally record that crucial final out for the Tigers. While they continue on in pursuit of another state title, the Blue Devils are left to regroup and reflect on the season they had and what that builds for the future.

Clay’s first time reaching the state tournament came in the 2014 season, under former Manager Rob Thompson. Following that year, Thompson handed things over to Persinger, his former assistant whom also played for Coach Thompson when he was a Blue Devil student-athlete. But this season Coach Persinger asked his former skipper back as an assistant, and Thompson was able to enjoy another hurrah in seeing first-hand all that this team accomplished to get back here this year.

“Being able to watch a former player, a former assistant coach, come out and do the job that he’s done since I left is just amazing,” Coach Thompson said. “It makes me feel good about the things that we’ve done for years and years. The community at Clay has always been a family, and very supportive. I’ll say at times that I’m not a very good assistant coach because I’m opinionated, and he was good with working with me on that. This is his time and their glory, and I am just along for the ride, and that’s how I want to be. But to see the job that they did this year, I’m very proud and I am just lucky to be along for the ride.”

The greatest lesson to take away is one that everyone should take note of. This team did not make excuses for itself, and they worked harder and made practices more challenging to bring their best out of themselves. They were accountable and they were dedicated. They did it the right way, the Clay Way.

There will come a day when the Clay Blue Devils dogpile and celebrate that first state championship. That day will come by staying true to the program they are. Thanks to teams like this 2026 club, they will know what it takes to get there.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!