WACO, Texas – Five Baylor pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout in the 4-0 win over Sam Houston in the home opener at Baylor Ballpark on Tuesday. The Bears (3-4) earned its first midweek victory of the season over the Bearkats (1-4). 
 
The two sides kept one another off the scoreboard as each squad had two hits apiece through the first five innings. In the top of the sixth, right fielder Davion Downey came up with a home run-saving catch over the wall to keep the game scoreless heading into the home-half of the frame.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Bears got on the board with a two-run blast from fifth-year senior Andy Thomas. In the same inning, third baseman Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo came up with an RBI-single to score second-year freshman Kyle Nevin to give the Bears the 3-0 advantage. 
 
Baylor added an insurance run in the eighth after second-year freshman Tre Richardson smacked his first-career home run to make it 4-0, the eventual final. 
 
In his first career start fifth-year senior Logan Freeman threw two innings, while fifth-year senior Jimmy Winston hurled 2.2 innings without allowing a hit. Second-year freshman Hambleton Oliver (2-0) earned his second win of the season after going two innings, while seniors Ryan Leckich and Luke Boyd closed the door late to preserve the shut out. Sam Houston's Matt Rudis (0-1) was tabbed with the loss. 
 
NOTES
• The Bears combined for a shutout for the first time since Feb. 26, 2020 against UTRGV (2-0).
• Thomas smacked his second home run of the season and 10^th of his career.
• Richardson hit his first career home run with a solo shot in the eighth.
• Newcomer Jack Pineda kept his hitting streak alive as he has a hit in all seven games.
• Thomas and Cardoza-Oquendo finished with two hits apiece.
• It was Freeman's first career start on the mound as he threw two scoreless innings.
 
QUOTE FROM COACH ROD
"It was awesome to be able to see our guys go out there and compete. It was really a team effort all around, we had four or five pitchers go out there and throw a really quality innings. There were a couple times where they were in a jam and they find a way to get a double play, even in the first inning a line out double play. Then offensively, we took some really good at bats and then didn't really have anything to show for it and then Andy (Thomas) he hits that monster homerun straight over center field and Tre (Richardson) gets one. We're able to score another run on a base hit our offense was just grinding and sometimes that's the way it's going to be. But when our pitchers are going to throw a shut out like that it makes the offensive job really easy."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will host Memphis for a four-game series this weekend beginning on Friday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
 
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