The Baylor Red Raiders scored six runs in the seventh inning Tuesday night to beat arch-rival McCallie, 9-8.
There were no such comebacks on Wednesday evening at McCallie.
The first game was a real nail-biter as the Blue Tornado made two first-inning runs stand up in a 2-1 victory where Baylor out-hit the hosts, 4-3.
The second game wasn't nearly as close as McCallie scored early and often, taking the 11-1 win and the season series 2-1 in five innings.
"I'm really impressed with how we responded after such a tough loss last night," said McCallie coach Greg Payne after his team had improved to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in region play.
"Palmer (Steventon) put the whole team on his back and carried them in the first game. He's not normally an emotional player, but he was pretty pumped up and he told me later in the game that he wasn't coming out," Payne continued.
The 17-year-old junior southpaw was nothing short of magnificent in that first game as he allowed four hits and two walks while striking out 13. The only run he allowed was unearned.
"I felt great out there today," he said as he headed to get a bite to eat between games.
"I felt like I had to go out and do a job, but I decided early that I wasn't going to let Baylor win today," he nodded.
McCallie scored its only two runs in the first inning.
Centerfielder Corbin Brooksbank led off with a single before going to third on a stolen base and a Baylor error on the throw to second. He scored on the next pitch when Max Riemer flied to center.
Quinn Smith had an infield single and scored what turned out to be the winning run on a single by John Behrends.
Those two runs were more than enough to win the first game.
Gavin Roberson scored Baylor's only run in that first game as he led off the fourth with a walk. A stolen base and two errors later, he scored on a bad throw to third after stealing that base.
Wilson Maclellan and Keaton Baker had singles in the sixth for Baylor, but Steventon ended the inning with a called third strike.
The second game wasn't nearly as close.
After a 1-2-3 first, McCallie's bats came to life in the bottom of the inning and scored four times.
Brooksbank and Riemer both reached on singles to get things started in that second game before Ethan Cady plated the first run on a groundout. Smith made it 2-0 with a single before Behrends lined a single to right for two more.
A two-out, two-run double by Cruz Bautista in the third extended the lead to 6-0.
Brooksbank then crushed a solo homer in the fourth before Riemer scored on an error for two more runs. Then in the fifth, the Blue Tornado got an RBI-single from Jackson Mathis before scoring the second run on a wild pitch and the game-winner on a passed ball.
Baylor's only run in the second game came on a run-scoring single by Tate Prater, who drove in Baker after he reached on a one-out error.
Payne felt much better following the second game.
"It takes the pressure off when you start with a four-run lead, but we were very business-like today. Great teams are able to finish. We weren't able to yesterday, but today was a new day. And I felt like we were a lot more loose in the second game as we were tight in the first one, trying to not lose again.
"And I'm happy to get this series behind us as it is always tense for both teams," Payne added.
Baylor coach Billy Berry was quick to accept blame for both losses.
"It's all my fault as we had to move some guys around because of injuries. We weren't as ready to play as we needed to be and that's on me. I'm really proud of my guys as they battled, but their guy in that first game was just great.
"McCallie has an outstanding team. We have to match them to have a chance. Today we weren't able to do that, but we'll be a good team when May gets here," Berry nodded after his team evened its record a 4-4 and 1-2 in region play.
Baker was the only Baylor player with two hits in the second game.
Brooksbank had three hits for McCallie in the second game while Smith finished with two.
Jackson Bell was the winning pitcher in the second game after allowing the one run on six hits. He also walked two and struck out one.
FIRST GAME
BAYLOR 000 100 0 -- 1 4 5
McCALLIE 200 000 x -- 2 3 2
Wolfe, Lepcio (5) and Collins; Steventon and Smith.
SECOND GAME
BAYLOR 000 10 -- 1 6 1
McCALLIE 402 23 -- 11 10 1
Roberson, Simonsen (4), Butler (5) and Collins, Watson (4); Bell and Riemer.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)