Neither the inability to practice much outdoors nor the chilly evening temperatures were enough to cool Baylor School's bats in Monday's baseball season opener.
The Red Raiders, who have been limited to mostly indoor batting practice after heavy rains flooded the school's lower athletic fields, showed no ill effects in an impressive 13-1 win at Chattanooga Christian.
Junior left-hander Colin Ahearn, a University of Tennessee commitment who transferred to Baylor before the school year, was dominant in limited work, not allowing a hit in his three innings and also driving in two runs.
"It felt really good to finally get back outside and play," said Ahearn, who struck out seven and walked two. "I felt like I was able to locate and execute my pitches where I wanted them pretty well. Even when I fell behind, it was good to focus and get in some good work."
Baylor wasted little time jumping in front as sophomore Cooper Kinney drilled a fastball well over the center-field fence for a first-inning solo home run.
"I knew right away," said Kinney, who didn't see any more fastballs near the plate and was walked in his next three at-bats. "We've been grinding, pretty much having to get in some our work inside, so this was great to be out here, back out on a field. We just wanted to put together some runs behind our pitchers."
The Red Raiders added four runs in the third inning, beginning with sacrifice flies by Gehrig Ebel and Christian Martin, followed by a two-run single from Ahearn.
"I think he's going to be a really nice addition to what we have," Baylor coach Mike Kinney said. "He has a really good demeanor out there.
"Today was a good chance for to finally get out on the field and let our pitchers establish some early confidence. All three of our guys went out and threw first-pitch strikes, which was great to see."
Senior right-hander Greyson Linderman relieved Ahearn in the fourth and was just as impressive, striking out the side in each of his two innings. He also had a pair of RBI singles.
Baylor will play its next six games at rival McCallie, including three that were scheduled to be at home but were moved as the team awaits the water to recede. The Red Raiders collected 11 hits, and six batters had at least one RBI each.
Kentucky signee John Rhodes' sixth-inning single was the only hit for CCS.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis