By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Freshman first baseman Kyle Nevin is kind of forcing Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez's hand. 
            For the second time in as many starts, Nevin went 3-for-4 and scored a run, helping the Bears (5-3) pull out a 2-0 win over UT Rio Grande Valley Tuesday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark. 
            "Kyle Nevin, at some point, is going to push my hand to where I have to make a decision in regards to getting him in the lineup more," Rodriguez said. "I'm really excited about what he's able to do with the bat, just in regards to his barrel control. Just watching those guys do what they do – we have a lot of freshmen out there executing really well – that's a good sign for our future."
            It was on full display in Tuesday's game, with Nevin collecting three of the team's nine hits, freshman centerfielder Jared McKenzie extending his hitting streak to eight games and freshman Tre Richardson turning two of the Bears' three double plays in his first start at shortstop. 
            Will Rigney, a 6-6 freshman right-hander who was drafted in the 38^th round by the San Francisco Giants, made his collegiate debut and picked up the win in a scheduled short start. The freshman from Midway High School struck out two, walked none, hit one batter and gave up one hit, facing just one over the minimum in three innings. 
            With four other pitchers combining for six shutout innings, Baylor recorded its second-straight shutout in a midweek game. Jimmy Winston, who didn't record an out in giving up seven earned runs in a 19-9 season-opening loss to Nebraska, bounced back with 2.1 strong innings with four strikeouts. 
            "That really kind of pumps me up when you get Rigney and Jimmy Winston going on the same day and you're able to have them healthy," Rodriguez said. "Watching them go out and pitch the way they can and look the way they did, with the success that they had, really got me excited to know that we're going to have going in the future here."
            On a day when the conditions were certainly not ideal for the hitters, with the wind blowing straight in, Baylor got plenty of runners on base with nine hits, five walks, a hit batter and a UTRGV error. But, the Bears hit into two inning-ending double plays and left 12 runners stranded. 
            "The hits will come, we know that," said Nevin, who is hitting .667. "We've got to do a better job of getting guys in when they're in scoring position. But, we know our guys and we know everything will start coming around."
            A transfer from Texas Tech, UTRGV starter John Henry Gonzalez (0-1) retired the side in order in the first and struck out three of the first four batters he faced. Baylor got a pair of hits in the second, but Hunter Seay flied out to center with runners on the corners. 
            In the third, McKenzie reached on an error and scored on a two-out RBI single by Andy Thomas to give Baylor the early 1-0 lead. 
            Thomas called it an "ugly" win, but "It's huge for morale, for everything."
            "Execution was tough today," he said. "My baserunning blunder at second base (getting doubled off on a line drive) . . . maybe two or three unexecuted balls on the ground that we could have had, and we probably would have scored five or six runs. But yeah, 2-0, it's ugly, but it's a win."
            Nevin had a two-out triple over the rightfielder's head in the fourth and scored when Seay singled through the right side. 
            Baylor had scoring chances in the last four innings as well, but hit into double plays in the fifth and seventh, left a runner stranded in scoring position in the sixth and had them loaded in the eighth when Richardson grounded out to third base. 
            The Vaqueros (3-6), coming off a 6-5, 12-inning win over Houston, had back-to-back scoring threats in the fifth and sixth. With runners at second and third and one out in the fifth, Nevin threw home to get Freddy Rojas Jr. at the plate on a grounder to first, then Winston struck out Jacob Hirsh looking. 
            In the sixth, when UTRGV loaded the bases with a pair of hits and a walk, lefty reliever Ryan Lekich came out of the bullpen to induce a 5-4-3 double play. In the ninth, Luke Boyd worked around a two-out single to strike out the side and pick up his second save. 
            After a 5-3 home stand, Baylor goes on the road for the first time to face Missouri (4-4) at 11 a.m. Friday at Minute Maid Park in Houston on the first day of the Shriner's Hospitals for Children College Classic. The Bears will face 11^th-ranked LSU 6-3) at 3 p.m. Saturday and No. 6 Arkansas (7-0) at 7 p.m. Sunday.
 
NOTES

• The Bears are now 37-12 all-time in midweek contests under fifth-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.
• SR OF Hunter Seay connected on the first double of his career and drove in one of the Bears' two runs on the day. 
• FR INF Kyle Nevin tallied his first career triple.   
• FR INF Kyle Nevin tied his career high with three hits on the day (both of his starts he has collected three hits)
• CF Jared McKenzie extended his hitting streak to eight games (he has reached safely in all eight games on the year). 
• FR RHP Will Rigney earned the win in his first career appearance and start. 
• SR RHP Luke Boyd tallied his second career save (and second of the season) in his team-leading fourth appearance of the year. 
• SR RHP Jimmy Winston made his second appearance of the year. 
• RS Jr Daniel Caruso made his third appearance of the year. 
• SR LHP Ryan Leckich made his third appearance of the year. 
• The shutout is the second of the year for the Bears. 
• The Baylor pitching staff struck out 10 on the day.

 
QUOTES OF THE DAY 
On the outcome of the game...
"Winning is always good. I was really happy with how we played. The conditions were really rough. The wind was blowing straight in, but our guys did a great job keeping the ball low and on the ground with line drives. We did a good job of getting some guys in scoring position with two outs and then hoping our guys got a hit. Good execution in a lot of different areas, offensively and defensively. Really happy with what our guys did. It's always good to get a win in a big weekend like this." – Head Coach Steve Rodriguez 
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears head to Houston for the Shriner's Hospitals for Children College Classic. The Bears will face Missouri on Friday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. at Minute Maid Park. 
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