The McCallie Blue Tornado baseball team did exactly what they needed to do at home Thursday night to keep their season alive.
Facing the Purple Irish from Father Ryan at Kenny Sholl Stadium, the Blue Tornado improved to 25-12 overall with a doubleheader sweep of Ryan, winning the first game 1-0 in eight innings while rolling to an impressive 18-3 victory in five innings in the second.
McCallie now advances to the quarterfinal round of the Division II-AA state playoffs where they are scheduled to face Baylor. The TSSAA website has that as a Friday contest, but it might be played sooner than that.
But on an evening where the winner advances and the loser calls it a season, McCallie won the first game when Nolan Sergeant scored on a passed ball with two outs in the eighth inning for the only run of the game.
That first game was a dandy if you’re into pitcher’s duals as two young men who are already committed to play in college next fall went toe to toe from start to finish.
Ryan’s Matthew Shorey, a hard-nosed southpaw who is planning to play at Vanderbilt, was a hard-luck loser after allowing the one run on six hits while walking two and striking out six.
McCallie junior Chris Moore, who has plans to play college ball at Virginia Tech, was equally as good as he got the win after allowing no runs on two hits while walking one and recording nine strikeouts.
Sergeant looped a double into the left-field corner with one out and went to third when Nick Gibson reached on an infield single. Chap Bandy then walked to load the bases to bring up David Sabo. He swung and missed at the second pitch he faced as the ball bounced away from the Ryan catcher, allowing the talented McCallie senior to scoot home with the winning run.
“I thought he might throw me a fastball, but I was ready when he let it go. I thought it might curl foul, but it stayed in play,” Sergeant explained between games.
“We were just looking to score any way we could, but when I saw the ball bounce away from the catcher, I broke for home and was able to beat the tag,” he added.
Moore improved to 7-2 with his complete-game victory. He knew he was facing one of the best pitchers his team would see, but he was more than up for the challenge as he responded with one of his best performances of the season.
“I just had an idea this might be a long game, but my goal was to just get ahead in the count early and throw strikes. I knew that if I did my job, it would give my teammates a chance to score a run and that’s what they did,” he smiled.
While the first game was a classic if you’re into great pitching performances, the second game was anything but. McCallie was the visiting team in the second game and jumped in front early as they sent eight hitters to the plate when they scored four runs before the Irish came to bat.
McCallie added four more in the second for an 8-0 lead before Father Ryan scored their three runs in the third.
The fourth inning was the back-breaker as the Blue Tornado sent a dozen hitters to the plate, during which time they collected six hits and three walks while scoring seven runs.
As if that wasn’t enough, McCallie finished the game with three more in the fifth just for good measure.
McCallie coach Tim Costo was just happy to see his team find a way to win against a really good pitcher in the first game before breaking loose with the bats in the second game.
“I’m really proud that we really competed in these two games tonight,” Costo said after everything was finished.
“That pitcher we faced in the first game was really good and one of the best we’ve seen this season. We were fortunate to score a run, but then we turned right around and hit it well in the second game.
“I’m pleased for the most part, but we’ll face another big challenge next week at Baylor,” the coach concluded.
While McCallie was limited to just six hits in the first game, they collected 15 in the second as eight of the nine starters had at least one.
Nick Gibson, who was the winning pitcher in the second game after allowing three runs on four hits in three innings of work, also had the biggest bat as he collected three hits, scored three times and drove in three.
Zach Porter’s three-run homer got the Blue Tornado started in the second inning while Gibson followed with a solo shot on the next pitch that was well into the trees in left and almost hit the building sitting up on the hill behind the stadium.
David Sabo, Briggs Martin, Sergeant and Porter all had two hits in that second game with Sabo and Porter joining Gibson with three RBIs.
Father Ryan finishes its season at 16-16-1.
FIRST GAME SUMMARY
FATHER RYAN 000 000 00 – 0 2 4
McCALLIE 000 000 01 – 1 6 0
Shorey and Derrick; Moore and Porter.
SECOND GAME SUMMARY
McCALLIE 440 73 – 18 15 1
FATHER RYAN 003 00 – 3 5 1
Gibson, Bandy (4) and Porter; Carr, McLeod (2), Bates (4), McGuire (5), Vaughn (5) and Derrick.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)