While the Devils struggled in the early going, the Mathews High School jayvee baseball team came on strong in the closing weeks to post a 5-1 Tidewater District record.

"We had to send three starters to varsity before our first game, and lost one more later in the season," said jayvee head coach Pat Beattie. "So needless to say, we had a shaky start."

The jayvee Devils dropped all four preseason exhibition games and five of the team’s first eight games, but finished the year with five consecutive wins, including a 17-7 season-ending victory in six innings against Middlesex on May 20.

Sophomore Josh Wilson was the team’s top slugger, with a .431 batting average and a .522 on-base percentage. Other offensive standouts included Joey Gordon (.410 batting average; .521 on-base percentage), Quentin Schaefer (.378 average; .586 on-base percentage), and Paul Burnette (.375 average; .606 on-base percentage).
Wilson was also the Devils’ primary pit...