When Baylor opened its baseball season in early March, Boyd Buchanan spoiled the debut with a three-run victory. On Monday night, the Red Raiders returned the favor with interest.

Behind a combined no-hitter and a locked-in lineup, Baylor got payback for that season-opening loss with a lopsided win over the Buccaneers.

"Good team effort. Good way to end the regular season," Baylor head coach Greg Elie said. "Now it's a whole new season, clean slate. Records don't matter. We're trying to peak at the right time, and I think we're headed in the right direction."

Baylor jumped on Boyd Buchanan early, putting up four runs in the first inning that set the tone for the rest of the night. Blake Lundy provided the biggest swing of the evening, launching a three-run homer that cleared the fence and put the game out of reach.

"Blake Lundy just crushing the ball was great," Elie said. "We've been really preaching about just taking good approaches and hitting stuff hard, just getting behind baseballs and hitting hard. They did that."

The run support was more than enough for a pitching staff that kept the Buccaneers hitless all night. Levi Fraley got the start and kept Boyd Buchanan guessing before handing the ball to Brody Hudson, who came on in relief and slammed the door to finish off the no-hitter.

"Levi Fraley getting out there and doing what Levi does, and then Brody Hudson coming in and just shutting the door, that was a good combo for guys," Elie said. "Those guys proved themselves and I'm excited for them."

For Boyd Buchanan, it was a rough night that didn't reflect the kind of team Matt Roberson has put together.

"You can't give a team like Baylor 11 free passes," Roberson said. "Hitting is contagious. I think it's the first game that I've ever been a part of a no-hitter against one of my offenses. We just never really got into the flow."

Scheduling a team like Baylor this late in the year was no accident. Roberson pointed to a similar loss late last season that sharpened his squad heading into a deep playoff run.

"When you play a team like Baylor, it makes a lot of the other teams seem human," Roberson said. "Sometimes you're the train, sometimes you're the truck, and today we were the truck. It's just one loss, and the scoreboard's already off."

Baylor now turns its attention to a big home series against McCallie at the end of the week. That matchup will sort out the top two seeds going into the postseason.

Boyd Buchanan, meanwhile, plans to move on quickly — not by overhauling anything, but by getting back to what's worked all year.

"There is nothing that we're going to do in two days that's going to make us a better baseball team," Roberson said. "You just use this as a humbling experience, and you come out here, and you get back to playing to the standard that we've created since November."

Story by Jake Moore Prep Sports - Chattanoogan.com

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