Baylor started of the 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in upset fashion.
Behind a career-best performance from senior right-hander Nick Lewis, Baylor downed D1Baseball.com’s No. 11-ranked Rebels. The Bears extended its winning streak to 10 games, remaining one of six undefeated teams in the country.
Baylor — now 10-0 — is off to the second best start in their program’s history, trailing only the 13-0 start of the 1984 sqaud.
BEARS WIN! Baylor (10-0) tops No. 9 Ole Miss (7-2) to open @shrinershosp 2017 College Classic. 10-0 start is 2nd best (1984,13-0). #SicEmpic.twitter.com/XdjwFgjxgG
— Baylor Baseball (@BaylorBaseball) March 3, 2017
Lewis was in control for much of the game, striking out a career-high nine batters, while not allowing a runner to reach third base over his seven innings. The senior moved to 3-0 on the young season, dropping his already stellar ERA to 1.42. Sophomore Kyle Hill came in to shut the door on Ole Miss with two shutout innings of his own.
Nick Lewis strikes out the side for his first 1-2-3 inning and picked up a new career high with his 9th K BU 4, Ole Miss 0 #SicOleMiss pic.twitter.com/zPCn5DULt6
— Baylor Baseball (@BaylorBaseball) March 3, 2017
“I’m so proud of the effort [Nick Lewis] has given,” head coach Steve Rodriguez told Baylor Athletics after the game. “The effort he and Coach [Jon] Strauss put together in the offseason and this season has been really awesome. It’s taken us a while to learn who these kids are and their strengths. You come in as a new staff and try to coach, we are learning who they are and they are learning who we are, and now that we have a little bit of time underneath us we’re really gelling very well.”
The Bears bats jumped out early on Ole Miss’s starter David Parkinson. Kameron Esthay’s RBI double, followed by Josh Bissonette’s RBI single in the second inning was all that Lewis would need.
The @Big12Conference draws first blood in Houston as @BaylorBaseball beats No. 11 @OleMissBSB 4-0. That was total domination. Wow. #SicEm
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogersD1) March 3, 2017
Baylor tacked on two more in the sixth, giving them the 4-0 lead and the Big 12 its first win of the weekend.
The road doesn’t get any easier in Houston for Baylor. They face No. 4 LSU on Saturday and No. 15 Texas A&M on Sunday.
