By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
TEMPE, Ariz. — Arkansas ace DJ Baxendale made sure the Razorbacks advanced in the Tempe Regional with his performance in the 3-0 win against New Mexico.
Now, it’s up to right-hander Ryne Stanek to keep the Razorbacks alive in another elimination game Sunday.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said Stanek will take the mound in Packard Stadium to face Charlotte at 3 p.m. The winner will advance to play Arizona State at 8 p.m.
Stanek, a freshman, gets the nod after a confidence-building performance against Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Tournament last Friday. He frustrated the Crimson Tide in a 7 2/3-inning stint, allowing one runs on two hits in Arkansas’ 4-1 win.
“Stanek pitched an outstanding game against Alabama in the tournament, kind of what we were hoping we’d get from him throughout the year,” Van Horn said. “But hopefully it’s a sign of what we have to look forward to hopefully (Sunday) and the future.”
Van Horn said he was only expecting three or four innings out of Stanek in the start, but believes the talented pitcher gained confidence with a career-long outing. It was the kind of performance Stanek hadn’t shown much of the year, experiencing his share of ups and downs in 14 appearances (11 starts).
“He wasn’t just throwing it,” Van Horn said of Stanek’s fastball, which was consistently in the mid-90s. “He was throwing it over the plate and he was putting it where he wanted it. He was throwing his slider for a strike. Hopefully he can come close to what he did last weekend and give us a chance.”
If Arkansas wins it will make another decision for the second game.
Van Horn said he was confident there’s enough arms — albeit young ones — on Arkansas’ pitching staff to piece together another outing in the regional.
Arkansas has used five pitchers in two games.
“We’ve got a lot of guys out there that are just really wanting to get on that mound,” Van Horn said. “Hopefully we’ll have a chance to play a few more games and they’ll get that opportunity.”
McKinney Heats Up
Arkansas’ offense has had its share of problems in the Tempe Regional, but there’s one player who is enjoying one of his best weeks of his career.
Outfielder Jarrod McKinney went 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs in the 3-0 win Saturday. He now is 5-for-7 in the regional.
“Jarrod had a great BP,” Van Horn said. “Most of his swings that we took were (opposite field) and he drove a lot of balls into right center as good as I’ve ever seen him doing it. (Saturday) he hit the ball down the line and hit it where he needed to hit it.”
McKinney drove in Arkansas’ first run with a double in the second inning. He added another double in the fourth. McKinney singled in the ninth inning and eventually scored to give Arkansas a 3-0 lead.
Van Horn Throws
McKinney wasn’t the only Razorback hot in batting practice Saturday. Van Horn opted for a change of pace, deciding to throw to his team before the game.
It wasn’t necessarily for Arkansas, though.
“I threw BP so I could get a little energy out of me more than anything,” Van Horn said. “It was more for me than for them to be honest with you.
“I was just trying to show them it doesn’t matter how hot it is we need to get ready to play. I didn’t think I probably really needed to do it, but I just felt like I needed to do it if that makes any sense.”
Big Strike Zone
New Mexico pitcher Richard Olson and third baseman DJ Peterson were asked what they thought of what was deemed a “big strike zone” after Saturday’s game.
“I thought it was a good strikezone from the pitching perspective,” said Olson, who struck out five.
It didn’t take long for Peterson to agree.
“We’ll just go and say it was a good pitching strikezone,” said Peterson, who was one of seven Lobos to strike out Saturday.
Kuhn Ties Record
Arkansas outfielder Collin Kuhn was plunked by a pitch from New Mexico reliever Austin House in the eighth inning Saturday. It was the 52nd time Kuhn has been hit in his career, which ties the school record.
Kuhn, who has been hit 15 times this season, can break the record with another today. Former Razorback Jack Welsh was hit by 52 pitches between 1997-2000.
