Holyoke, MA - Valley Blue Sox center fielder Clay Burdette had himself an impressive home run at Mackenzie Stadium. Burdette was patiently waiting for his opportunity to hit the perfect pitch delivered by Mystic Schooners starting pitcher Mike Poncini.
“It was a fastball and it was kind of center cut,” Burdette said. “I didn’t know it was gone right off the bat, [Mackenzie Stadium] has a deep center field.”
The center fielder also mentioned that, “It would be awesome if I did [finish first in the NECBL in home runs] but sticking to my plate approach and processing my approach to the plate is key.”
Valley’s head coach Endy Morales was very impressed with Burdette’s home run. “I played here for four years [before coaching] and I have not seen a home run hit dead center field,” Morales said. “That ball was the hardest hit ball that I’ve ever seen personally. That was pretty cool.”
The center fielder played in another summer baseball league, the Prospect Baseball League in 2024 for the Chillicothe Paints. With the Paints, Burdette batted an impressive .300 with 39 hits, five doubles, four home runs and 31 RBIs.
Burdette enjoyed playing in the Prospect League for the Paints. “It was exactly what I needed, a ton of at bats while facing good competition,” Burdette said. “The NECBL is definitely a step up as far as pitching. It’s been awesome to compete against the best players around.”
Burdette grew up in Cincinnati Ohio and chose to stay close to home for college, attending Xavier University, a private university in Cincinnati, OH. For the Xavier Musketeers in 2025 the Cincinnati native notched 13 home runs, 44 RBIs, 25 BB and a .292 batting average. The center fielder chose to go to Xavier University because he’s been a Xavier Basketball fan his whole life and had a lot of family go there.
The NECBL home run leader also saw success in 2023 in high school. His high school, Archbishop Moeller, won the 2023 state championship in Ohio. Burdette has many great memories with the team. “My favorite memory was my senior year in 2023 on state weekend. When you’re competing for a state championship it does not matter about stats or awards you’re just trying to win the game, so all of the guys [on his team] working for a common goal was my favorite memory.”