GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Baker County held tight for four innings with their district 3-4A championship game still at a 0-0 tie with the Clay High Blue Devils, but the bough was broken in the fifth inning thanks to a monster left field homer by Easton McMahan as Clay High throttled to to finish off a 7-3 win over Baker County on Thursday, April 17 at Clay High School.

"Baker County has always given us trouble even back to our state championship run in 2014," said Clay coach Josh Persinger. "We were the top team in the area and Baker County scored three on us that night in the first inning. Nobody ever remembers that, but I got a little nervous in the fourth at 0-0."
Clay, the region No. 2 seed behind top seed Arnold High, will host the first two of a three-game series that starts Monday, April 21 and continues to Wednesday April 23, to determine who advances to the region semifinals.
The second and third round home teams will be the higher seeds if the district champions do not advance.
The Blue Devils will have Bishop Kenny visiting for the first two games of the region 1-4A opener. Bishop Kenny is 7-19 and won their district 4-4A title with a 3-2 win over Yulee.
In the opposite region opener, with the winner to play the winner of Clay vs. Bishop Kenny in round two, Pensacola Escambia will play Wakulla.

In the opposite end of the region bracket, the four teams will be Arnold (21-6, beat Wakulla (14-11) 6-1 for district title) vs. Fort Walton Beach and Choctawhatchee vs. St. Augustine.
Arnold was a region finalist last year losing 6-1 to eventual 4A runnerup South Walton. Bishop Kenny lost in the region semifinal last year also to South Walton. Wakulla lost to Arnold in the region semifinals. Arnold lost to South Walton in the region final.
Clay, in Class 5A last year, lost in the region finals to Lincoln 2-0; Lincoln losing in the state semifinal to American Heritage.
"With our schedule this year, I figured us to be 17-8 or 18-9 by this time, but at least we were tested," said Persinger, referring to losses to St. Johns Country Day School, Tampa Jesuit, IMG Academy, Creekside and Bishop Snyder, all now in region playoffs. "Our goal through the season was to finish each week 2-1. We got a lot better after the Jesuit and IMG losses."
Against Baker County, after McMahans' blast, senior Merrick Rapoza nearly gave the Wildcats of Blue Devil ice cream with a right field fly ball that got caught on the fence.
On the mound, Clay relief pitcher Levi Chmura, who took over for Rylan McMahan, who left with five strikeouts and just one hit for his four innings, dispatched of three Wildcats batters in just six throws.
Next inning, Chmura singled to eventually score pinch baserunner Caleb Ainsworth who got a superb bunt from Peyton McCrae to score Clay's second run before Cole Carnell flyballed out.
Chmura got hit with a double and an RBI single to close the gap to an uncomfortable 2-1 game for Persinger.


In the sixth, Clay's bats erupted starting with a Lukas Moore single, a walk and a balk before Rapoza blasted an RBI double to 3-1, then a LJ Martin sacrifice fly to score McMahan before Chmura stepped into the batters box and delivered the death blow; a two run homer to center field that scored Rapoza to put the game at 6-1.
"What I love about this team, and after the St. Johns loss, I let them have it, but they went from a selfish attitude to a selfless attitude," said Persinger. "Everyone wants to be the guy on this team with the talent we have, but I've had my players actually suggesting their teammates for key moments in games. You don't get that a lot at the high school level."
Clay got run seven on an error, but, in their final at bat, Baker County, punched up three straight singles for another run, then two more for their third run.