THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (19-17) topped Lamar (22-14) Monday night at Baylor Ballpark, 5-1, for its third-straight win.

Kyle Nevin homered for the third game in a row and Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo recorded a pair of hits and drove in a run to power the BU offense. Cam Caley, Cole Stasio and Chandler Freeman each worked two scoreless innings on the mound, while Travis Hester made his season debut. Hambleton Oliver and Adam Muirhead also pitched in the win.

Jack Pineda got things started with a leadoff triple in the bottom of the first and subsequently scored on Tre Richardson's sacrifice fly, making it 1-0. The Bears added the next two tallies in the third via Nevin's solo shot and Cardoza-Oquendo's run-scoring single.

On the mound, Caley got through the first two innings cleanly before turning it over to Stasio, who needed just 15 pitches to pick up six outs. Hester came on for the first time in 2022 in the fifth, but needed some help from Oliver to get out of a jam. On the second pitch he threw, Oliver induced a double play as Jacob Schoenvogel threw out a runner at the plate trying to score on a fly out.

In the sixth, Lamar scratched across its only run of the game, but BU responded with a run of its own in the bottom half thanks to Pineda's RBI groundout to extend the lead to 4-1. Pineda created another run in the eighth after getting caught in a rundown attempting to steal, but allowing enough time for Jacob Schoenvogel to cross the plate and make it 5-1.

Freeman pitched the seventh and eighth innings, notching three of the team's four strikeouts on the night before Muirhead shut things down in the ninth. The sophomore righty threw just 12 pitches to seal the victory.

NOTES
• Baylor improves to 46-32-1 all-time against Lamar, including a 3-1 record against the Cardinals under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.
• The Bears are now 49-18 in midweek contests during the Rodriguez era, including a 6-3 mark in such games this season.
• BU's streak of innings pitched without allowing a walk was snapped at 31.2.
• Baylor turned three double plays on the night, improving its season total to 39 which ranks in the top-five nationally and leads the Big 12.
• The Bears extended their streak to 15 games in a row with at least one extra-base hit.
• BU has tallied two or more XBH in each of its last five games and six of its last seven contests.
• Jared McKenzie extended his career-high on-base streak to 23 games.
• Jack Pineda extended his on-base streak to 19 games by hitting his seventh triple of the year.
• Pineda has scored at least one run in each of his last 14 games.
• Kyle Nevin extended his on-base streak to 16 games and his hit streak to five games.
• Nevin blasted his team-leading 7th home run of the season, and his third in as many games. He is the first BU player since Josh Ludy in 2012 to homer in at least three-straight games.
• Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo racked up his seventh multi-hit game of the season.
• Cam Caley earned his second win of the season.
• Chandler Freeman set a career high with three strikeouts.
 
STAT OF THE GAME
3 – Kyle Nevin became the first Baylor player since Josh Ludy in 2012 to homer in three-straight games.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Steve Rodriguez
On Kyle Nevin's hot streak…
"You know, [Kyle] Nevin has been working really hard and it's been fun watching him get after it. Once you have guys finding the zone, finding their groove, they stay in it. I mean, the ball that he smashed to left field was literally eight feet off the ground and went all the way to the wall and got caught. That was probably one of the more impressive line drives that I've seen. He's obviously feeling really good right now, and I love seeing it because he's worked so hard."
 
On Jacob Schoenvogel's throw…
"That was probably one of the biggest plays of the game. That ball wasn't hit fairly deep, but he's got a phenomenal arm and he put it right on the money. It was a huge energy shift and momentum turn. That was one of those things that puts a dagger in them a little bit. Just a big play overall in regards to momentum."

Sophomore OF Kyle Nevin
On his recent hitting success…
"At the top of the lineup, we're trying to be the energizers for everybody else. Just being able to provide that spark for everybody. Having [guys in front of me] get on consistently just gives me, Jared and other guys confidence to go out there and do our job. Everybody is putting together great at-bats these last couple games. It wears pitchers down. It allows us to get better pitches later in counts. Seeing that all come together is really going to start turning it around for us."

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (19-17) welcomes Sam Houston (19-16) for another midweek contest at 6:30 p.m. CT at Baylor Ballpark on Tuesday, April 19.
 
For the latest news on the Baylor baseball team all season long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.