STARKVILLE — Momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher.
The No. 3 University of Arkansas baseball team proved Saturday afternoon that theory fits as sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryne Stanek guided his team to an 8-0 victory against Mississippi State in front of a crowd of 4,554 at Dudy Noble Field.
“We got whipped in every phase of the game (Friday) night, and I think he took it as a personal challenge to even this series out,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “Stanek was just outstanding, and people think he’s a power guy, but his best quality is the ability to throw strikes.”
Stanek (6-0) helped Arkansas (21-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) deny MSU (16-8, 2-3) its first series victory between the teams since 2008. The 6-foot-4 right-hander allowed just two hits and struck out six in a 107-pitch effort in 6 2/3 innings. During a stretch in the middle innings when the Razorbacks jumped all over relief pitchers, Stanek retired 10 of 12 batters and didn’t allow a runner past second base.
“It’s all about confidence and being more solid mechanical for me,” Stanek said. “I know I can come out here now and compete with the best teams in the country.”
Stanek showed why the Seattle Mariners made him a third-round pick two years ago. The projected first-round prospect in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft showcased four quality pitches (a 93- to-97-mph fastball, an 81-83 mph curveball, an 85-86 mph slider, and an improved 84-86 mph changeup) and played a part in MSU’s first shutout in 54 games dating back to an 18-0 loss to the University of Florida on April 9, 2011.
“It was just big to come out and try to kill all the momentum they had and take it our way,” Stanek said. “I wanted to attack all their hitters and make them beat me instead of letting them dictate what I was doing.
“I was able throw all of my pitches for a strike, except curveball, but that one was thrown out of the zone where I needed it to be.”
Said Van Horn, “I was talking with (Arkansas catcher) Jake Wise after the game and he said, ‘Coach he was throwing everything he called for strikes. We had no problem calling any pitch in any count with him today, and that’s the sign of a quality outing.”
MSU coach John Cohen said Stanek was too much for a lineup that is still trying to find its way through youth and injuries to key elements.
“We faced probably one of the best guys in our league and just really didn’t put our noses in there and fight,” Cohen said. “To beat a guy like that, it has to be one or two runs and defend it to keep the score at that level.”
Less than 24 hours after scoring eight of its 11 runs against ace pitcher DJ Baxendale, MSU didn’t have an extra-base hit.
“The kid is good and was changing eye levels up and down the zone,” said MSU sophomore leadoff hitter Adam Frazier, who went hitless for only the fifth time in a game this season. “I felt we put some good swings on him and then helped him out later in the game.”
MSU senior left-handed starter Nick Routt was effective through four innings, but he fell into trouble in the fifth, allowing two runs off back-to-back hits by the middle of the order.
“The positive is Routt found his changeup and got some swing and misses,” Cohen said. “The changeup is going to be a difference-maker for him.”
Routt had been struggling with the delivery of his straight changeup,
which contributed to his having Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow in 2010. The surgery forced him to invent more of a circle changeup to ease the tension on the elbow and shoulder.
In the sixth, Wise drew a walk against reliever Evan Mitchell after being in an 0-2 hole. Wise was the first of seven straight Arkansas batters to reach base. A parade of hits, errors, and mistakes followed and led to a six-run inning. Mitchell and left-handed freshman Jacob Lindgren couldn’t prevent Arkansas from becoming the first team to bat around against MSU this season.
“We can not shove the ball in the strike zone enough to get a ball in play,” Cohen said. “That really killed us.”
Arkansas cleanup hitter Matt Reynolds had three hits and three RBIs to lead the 19-hit attack.
MSU will try to win its first SEC series of the season at noon today when it goes with junior right-hander Kendall Graveman (2-0, 2.30) to in the series finale.
“We got a job to finish,” Graveman said. “I really feel comfortable with the plan Mitch (Slauter) and coach (Butch) Thompson have laid out for me, so we’ll go out and execute a plan.”
Look to The Dispatch MSU Sports Blog for a recap of today’s series
finale and follow Twitter at http://twitter.com/matthewcstevens for
up-to-date coverage of the game.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.