Feb. 24, 2017

Final Stats

Troy Montemayor has ice water in his veins.

Trying to preserve a one-run lead in the ninth, the Baylor junior closer threw out a runner at second on a sac bunt attempt, then struck out the next two batters to seal the Bears' 3-2 win over South Alabama (4-1) Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark.

"That's why he's one of the best closers in the country," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez, whose team improved to 6-0 overall and 5-0 at home. "What people don't realize is that he's not coming in and throwing lights-out. . . . Even after we make an error behind him, he makes it easy for a lot of us to relax, because he has t under control, or he seems like he does."

Nick Lewis (2-0) took a one-hit shutout into the sixth, extending Baylor's scoreless inning streak to 23, before the Jaguars got to him for single runs in the sixth and seventh.

"I thought I kind of built on some things from last week," said Lewis, who gave up two runs on six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings. "As the game got later, my stuff started to fade out on me a little bit. So, I kind of made some adjustments so I could get a little deeper in the game, kind of force contact more."

South Alabama came in hitting .390 for the season and had averaged 15 runs, including a 32-run outburst against Eastern Illinois.

"They're super aggressive, and they've got some good hitters on that team," Lewis said.

Baylor's bullpen was lights-out again, with Drew Robertson and Montemayor striking out three of the seven batters they faced and not allowing a hit or walk in the last two frames.

In the ninth, Travis Swaggerty reached on a fielding error by second baseman Josh Bissonette. But, he was erased on the heads-up play by Montemayor when pinch-hitter Carter Perkins bunted back to the mound, although shortstop Tucker Cascadden had to stretch to make the catch at second.

"That's just instinct," said Montemayor, who picked up his second save of the year and 16th career save in 17 chances. "We work on that every day in practice. So, when I saw the ball right at me, I didn't even think about first base. It was a great throw, until I threw it, and then it went away a little bit. I didn't realize how fast that guy was moving down to second base. It was a good play by Tuck."

Scoreless through four innings, the Bears finally got it going in the bottom of the fifth when Aaron Dodson led off with a slap single that glanced off diving first baseman Wells Davis' glove and trickled away.

Bissonette moved him into scoring position with a sac bunt down the third-base line, then Richard Cunningham brought in the first run with a triple that landed just fair down the right-field line. Cunningham scored on Cascadden's RBI single to left.

Baylor put runners on the corners with a hit-and-run single by T.J. Raguse and scored the third run of the inning on Steven McLean's groundout to the right side.

"That's what I keep telling our guys, and I believe that's what I told Dodson, `Hey, you get on, we're going to score,''' Rodriguez said, "because I know our execution has been pretty good. We had a couple times during this game where it wasn't, but in that inning we were able to execute quite a few things to be able to get some guys on base and get a couple hits. Next thing you know, runners are running around the bases and we put the defense on their heels."

USA starter Randy Bell (1-1) took the loss despite holding the Bears to a season-low three runs on nine hits and no walks with six strikeouts in 7.2 innings.

Saturday's 3:05 p.m. game will pit Baylor junior right-hander Montana Parsons (1-0, 1.50 ERA) against South Alabama lefty Zach Melton (1-0, 0.0), with the series wrapping up with Sunday's game at 1:05 p.m.

With BU starter Nick Lewis and USA starter Randy Bell dealing, runs were hard to come by. However, the Bears struck first on the scoreboard and opened a big enough lead to stand.

Aaron Dodson led off the fifth inning with an infield single and scored the game's first run on a Richard Cunningham RBI triple. Tucker Cascadden followed with an RBI single, and after a T.J. Raguse single moved Cascadden to third, Steven McLean plated him on an RBI ground out to second for a 3-0 lead.

The Jaguars answered with a run in each of the sixth and seventh innings off Lewis but that would be it for the scoring. BU reliever Drew Robertson tossed a 1-2-3 eighth and closer Troy Montemayor worked around an error in the ninth to close the door.

Lewis (2-0) earned the win, giving up two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts. Montemayor gathered his second save of the season in as many tries. Bell (0-1) was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs on nine hits with six strikeouts in 7.2 innings.

NOTES
*Baylor is 6-0 to start a season for the first time since 2012 (6-0) -- last 7-0 start was in 2008.

*Baylor has won six straight games for the first time since winning 24 straight from March 16-April 22, 2012.

*Baylor is 2-1 all-time vs. South Alabama and 2-0 in Waco in the series.

*Baylor is 5-0 at home this season and 406-182 all-time at Baylor Ballpark.

*Junior closer Troy Montemayor garnered his second save of the season and 16th of his career. He converted his first eight career save attempts last season, and after blowing a save in his ninth attempt, has converted eight straight. He's 16-for-17 in converting save attempts in his career. He now ranks tied for seventh (Brooks Pinckard, 2009-11) on BU's career saves list (16).

*Montemayor has eight straight scoreless outings dating back to 2016 with 10 strikeouts in 7.0 innings during the run.

*Senior reliever Drew Robertson has three straight scoreless outings to begin 2017 with seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings.

*Senior starter Nick Lewis tied a career high with a season-best seven strikeouts.

*Junior JUCO transfer shortstop Tucker Cascadden has an RBI in all six games as a Bear.

*Senior designated hitter Matt Menard has reached base in all six games this season and posted his second two-hit game of the season.

*Senior first baseman Aaron Dodson has a five-game on-base streak.

*Sophomore second baseman Josh Bissonette has his first two-hit game of the season.

*Sophomore centerfielder Richard Cunningham has his first two-hit game of the season, adding his second triple of the season and seventh of his career.

STAT OF THE GAME
2012 -- The last year Baylor started 6-0 and last year the Bears had a winning streak of six or more games.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"Nick Lewis just did an amazing job with a very offensive team. They really took some big swings and luckily he was able to execute a lot of his pitches." -- Head coach Steve Rodriguez

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor continues the series vs. South Alabama Saturday at 3:05 p.m. CT and Sunday at 1:05 p.m. on FOX Sports Southwest.