The Mathews Blue Devils varsity baseball team shut out the King and Queen Central Tigers, 20-0, last Thursday, April 17.
Senior Colin Moore was dominant on the mound, throwing a no-hitter, striking out 14 Tigers, with only one walk. The Blue Devils had a strong day at the plate, slugging 11 hits and only striking out three times. Freshman Hunter Horsley and junior Danny Hogge both led the team with two hits apiece.
The Mathews Blue Devils faced off against the King William Cavaliers on Friday in a hard-fought loss to the Cavaliers by a score of 13-6. The Blue Devils held it close at 4-3 until the top half of fourth inning, when the Cavaliers hit a grand slam, which blew the game open.
Starting pitcher senior Justin Jones pitched 3-1/3 innings for Mathews. Jones allowed six hits and eight earned runs, while also recording four strikeouts. Blue Devils’ senior Christian Blue entered in relief and pitched 2-2/3 innings while allowing five hits, five earned runs, and recording two strikeouts. Junior Danny Hogge came in to close the game in the final inning, allowing one hit and recording one strikeout.
Moore and sophomore Zach Salvadori both led the team with two hits each. Horsley helped the score for the Blue Devils in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-RBI double. Although the outcome wasn’t what the Blue Devils hoped for, they played their most complete game of the season, scoring the most runs against the King William Cavaliers of any other team they have faced this season.
The Blue Devils bounced back, winning 15-0, by mercy rule, against the Charles City Panthers on Tuesday. Jones started on the mound, pitching two scoreless innings. Jones struck out six batters, allowing only two hits. Freshman Michael Wiatt closed the game for Mathews, recording two strikeouts and no hits allowed. On offense, the Blue Devils had seven hits, highlighted by sophomore Mason Perry and Hogge both having two RBIs. The Blue Devils were also very aggressive on the base pass, stealing a season high, nineteen bases.
The varsity Blue Devils’ next two games were at home on Wednesday, April 23 against the Northampton Yellow Jackets; today, Thursday, April 24, against West Point. The first pitch will be thrown at 5 p.m. for both games.