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Former Clay High and former University of Alabama outfielder Max Williams announced on social media Thursday afternoon that he will transfer to FSU to continue his baseball career.

The Clay High Blue Devils baseball team suffered a 7-1 loss at home Tuesday night in the FHSAA 5A Regional Championship to the Columbia Tigers. The game was originally scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. but multiple lightning delays pushed the game back to an 8:15 start time. However, Clay County came out to support the Blue Devils as they had over 1,000 people show up for their game against Columbia. Clay High gave away 100 free tickets to students and over 30 baseball alumni showed up for the home team, with half of the alumni helping clean up the field after the rain delay to ensure the game started on time.

The Clay High Blue Devils baseball team got a 5-3 Regional Semifinal victory at home Friday night over the in-county rival Ridgeview Panthers. The Blue Devils got a revenge win over the Panthers after the Panthers got a dominating 8-1 win over the Blue Devils in the District Championship two weeks ago.

Baseball teams across Clay County played in the first week of the FHSAA 2023 Regional Baseball Playoffs from May 8-12. Listed below are the teams who played during the week and how they fared in their matchups.

The Clay High Blue Devils baseball team got an 11-5 win at home Tuesday night over the Escambia Gators in the first round of the FHSAA 5A Regional 1 playoffs. Before the game started, former Clay High and San Francisco Giant pitcher Jake Dunning threw out the first pitch. Dunning had a career ERA of 2.77 in 30 MLB games.

The Ridgeview Panthers baseball team got an 8-1 win against Clay High Thursday night for the FHSAA 5A District 3 Championship in a neutral site game at Orange Park High School.

The Clay High Blue Devils wore pink in their 1-0 win over the Nease Panthers Wednesday night in honor of former Clay High teacher Claire McCool. McCool tragically passed away from breast cancer in November 2017. McCool was close with head coach Josh Persinger because she taught him when he was a student and they worked together in the math department when he became a teacher.

The Clay High Blue Devils baseball team got a 1-0 victory at home Tuesday night against the Nease Panthers. The lone run of the game was scored in the bottom of the first inning. The Clay offense started out with a double from leadoff hitter Cole Carnell. Chase Haggard was next up and bunted to advance Carnell. However, Nease made a throwing error trying to get Haggard out which allowed Carnell to score from second base to give Haggard an RBI.

Clay High Blue Devils’ catcher Chase Haggard won the Clay County Athlete of the Week for his offensive performance last week that saw the Blue Devils go 3-0 against Creekside, Santa Fe and Ridgeview.

The St. Johns Country Day baseball team got a shutout 4-0 win on the road against the Clay High Blue Devils Thursday night. St. Johns jumped out to an early lead in the baseball game. In the top of the first inning, starting pitcher Jacob Thomas got two RBIs on a fielder's choice to give St. Johns a 2-0 lead. St. Johns added the last two runs of the game in the fourth inning. Isaiah Mamea got two RBIs on a double to put the Spartans up, 4-0.

The Clay High Blue Devils baseball team won a 3-1 game on the road Friday night against the in-county rival Fleming Island Golden Eagles. Before the game, Fleming Island dedicated the matchup against Clay High to coach Jim Tuttle, who tragically passed away last year from kidney cancer. Players and fans wore orange ribbons and other orange accessories in honor of Tuttle.

121 Financial Ballpark is home to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and once a year some area high school teams get to experience a game at the minor league baseball stadium. Clay High baseball head coach Josh Persinger, whose Blue Devils won a 6-2 matchup against the in-county rival Oakleaf Knights Tuesday night at 121 Financial Ballpark, provided insight on how local high schools can play under the lights at the ballpark.

The Clay High Blue Devils baseball team got a 6-2 win over the undefeated Oakleaf Knights Tuesday night at 121 Financial Park, home of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. The game started out with dominant pitching performances from Clay High’s Easton McMahan and Oakleaf’s Jordan Clarke. McMahan finished the night with six innings pitched with six strikeouts while only giving up four hits and two runs. Clarke finished the game with four and two-thirds innings pitched with one strikeout and three runs given up.

The Clay High baseball team got a mercy-rule win after four and a half innings at home over the Bishop Snyder Cardinals Tuesday night, 12-0. In the first inning, Clay High got the first run of the game after Parker Lowrance hit a ground ball that got past the infield to score Cole Carnell. Clay added an additional run in the first inning after Josh Rouw hit a sacrifice ground ball to score Reef Johnson.

The Clay High Blue Devils defeated the Keystone Heights Indians Tuesday night in the first game of the 2023 regular season by a score of 6-3. Heading into the game, most of the Clay High players were getting their first action at the high school level. Clay High head coach Josh Persinger talked about the youth on the team and how they performed Tuesday night.

The 2023 FHSAA baseball regular season starts Monday. Here is a brief recap of each team’s 2022 season and how each team will look heading into 2023. In 2022, Clay High went on a playoff run for the first time since their Final-Four appearance in 2018. The senior-heavy roster made a deep run in the playoffs that ended with a 2-1 loss against the Suwannee Bulldogs in the FHSAA 4A Regional Semifinal. Clay High graduated eight of its nine starters from last season, with many of those starters playing at the next level in Alabama outfielder Max Williams, UNF pitcher Brandon Adams, FSCJ catcher Dylan Greene, FSCJ pitcher Jayden Long, Berry College pitcher Brady Greene and Point Park first basemen Josh Isenberg.

With the FHSAA baseball season beginning in February, the Clay High School Blue Devils have been preparing for the season in the weight room and on the track for their speed training program.

Clay High Blue Devils head baseball coach Josh Persinger took charge of the program in 2015 and is the longest-tenured baseball head coach in Clay County. Persinger started at Clay High School as a nervous freshman worried about the unknowns of high school in 1999. Little did he know that once he stepped through the doors of Clay High School, that school would be a more important part of his life than he could ever imagine.

The Clay High Blue Devils are set to face the Suwannee Bulldogs after they defeated the Santa Fe Raiders on Wednesday night in a 10-inning nail-biter, 12-9. Clay High got out to an early lead. In the first inning with two outs, Jayden Long hit a double to deep center field, scoring pinch-runner Connor Chapman. Clay High followed up with four more runs in the second inning. Logan Wilson scored two runs on a single to right field. Long hit another double, scoring two more runs for Clay High.

Brandon Adams at the plate.Photo taken by Anthony Salazar. The Clay High School Blue Devils defeated the Pedro Menendez Falcons, 6-0, at home Tuesday night, clinching a District Championship matchup versus the Bishop Kenny Crusaders.