JACKSONVILLE - With a flurry of timely hitting and some outstanding infield play, the Clay High Blue Devils baseball team, with a Cinderella turnaround from a 1-7 season start, head to the region 1-6A championship on Tues., May 23 against Mosley High in Lynn Haven.

“It’s been a good ride,” said Clay coach Josh Persinger, who started the season at 1-7 before slowly turning the season around with a district 4-6A runnerup finish and two region playoff wins. “I think this team is just crazy enough to think we could go all the way. It’s just believing.”

Clay (19-11) advanced with a dominating 13-2 win over district 3-6A runnerup Paxon High, who upended district 4-6A champion Ponte Vedra in the region quarterfinal round of playoffs. Clay defeated Stanton Prep 13-4 in their region opener.

“We did some scouting on them because Paxon and Stanton too, both won games over us,” said Persinger. “We coached the kids on what to anticipate and what they would throw at us and they just executed.”

Clay with recent Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2016 under coach Rob Thompson, will have a rugged path to the Class 6A championship with Mosley first on the docket.

Mosley (25-2), with history against area teams, hosts the Blue Devils with a long history of success with region playoffs berths to 1983 and state championship games back to 1985 where Mosley defeated Orange Park High in that region 1-4A semifinal before losing in the championship game to Hialeah High of Miami Lakes.

In 2000 and 2001, Mosley and Orange Park tangoed in the region 1-6A quarterfinals twice with Mosley winning both before the Middleburg High Broncos faced off in 2013 in the region finals, but lost 10-6.

Clay, in 2014, en route to their second of two Final Four appearances, beat Mosley 8-3 in the region 1-5A region before losing to Tampa Jesuit in the Class 5A championship game 5-2. Clay lost to Ponte Vedra 1-0 in the 2012 Class 5A semifinal.

“Some of these kids were around when that game happened, maybe not playing, but watching and they were able to see the excitement of taking out a state power,” said Persinger.

In 2016, Mosley, state champs in 2002 (5A), lost 10-4 to Archbishop McCarthy of Southwest Ranches in the Class 6A championship game. En route, Mosley beat Terry Parker High, who ended a story book season by the Ridgeview High Panthers with a 10-9 win in the region semifinals.

In the region 2-6A final, Clay’s next opponent with a win over Mosley will be the winner of Archbishop McCarthy vs. Eau Gallie. Eau Gallie (26-3, state runnerup in 1983 (4A)) is having one of their best season in recent years with just a handful of region playoff berths in the last five years while Archbishop McCarthy (26-2) may be the cream of the crop with the Mavericks state champions six times in the last seven years in Class 4A, 5A and most recently 6A.

“Hopefully, Mosley and Archbishop are thinking beyond Clay High baseball as a step to them playing in the final for a third year in a row,” said Persinger. “I try not to let the kids get caught up in the history of teams like them, but just that we deserve to be there as much as they do. Now, it’s just a game to win.”

Last year, Archbishop McCarthy, the state record holder with four consecutive state titles (2010-2013), beat Mosley 10-4 in the Class 6A championship game. In 2015 and 2016, Archbishop McCarthy beat Mosley in the championship games with Jesuit’s win over Clay in 2014 the only year Archbishop McCarthy did not make the state final. Archbishop McCarthy lost to Rockledge 2-1 in nine innings in the Class 5A region final in 2014 with Clay beating Rockledge to get to the championship game against Jesuit.

Against Paxon, with Austin Burke starting on the mound for coach Josh Persinger, the Blue Devils exploded in the batter’s box with for their second 13-run offensive surge with a 13-2 win in that region semifinal. Clay beat Stanton Prep 13-4 in their region quarterfinal.

In the first two innings against Paxon, Clay ramped up their hit and run style for two runs apiece off a Kevin Jackson double and a Cole Escher single with Connor Solomon smashing a hard grounder to score Escher for a 2-0 lead.

“Our guys feed off each other’s energy and that’s a big plus,” said Persinger. “If we get the first punch in, we are hard to beat.”

Burke got stung for two singles and a base loading hit batter, but Solomon responded with a double play ball on a grounder behind Burke that squashed the inning.

Clay put two more on the scoreboard with singles from Escher and Tyler Spence pushing Jackson across home plate a second time. Jackson was hit by a pitch to get to first base. Escher scored off a Josh Lemen single into centerfield for a 4-0 Clay lead.

In the fourth, Clay blasted for six runs off a walk to Andy Yarbrough, a single to Jackson before Escher was hit with a pitch to load the bases with no outs.

Clay took advantage with a Spence grounder scoring Yarbrough, Lemen taking a pitch and Solomon slashing a single to centerfield for a 7-0 lead. Off Solomon’s single, a throwing error scored Lemen before a second error scored Solomon with a wild pitch scoring pinch runner Nick Barrie for a 10-0 lead.

Paxon scored in the fifth off a double, a walk and two singles to close the gap to 10-2, but Burke answered with a triple to score two more Clay runs before Michael Styron pinch hit the 13th run in.