FAYETTEVILLE — It didn’t take long for Ryne Stanek to make an impression.
Arkansas’ freshman right-hander will move into the starting rotation today after only one appearance when he takes the mound for the opening game of a three-game series against Utah at Baum Stadium.
Stanek earned a save in his college debut when he pitched four hitless innings Saturday in a 9-2 victory over Delaware State.
His promotion is part of an experiment by Arkansas’ coaches to try to get D.J. Baxendale into more games as a reliever. Baxendale, who led Arkansas with seven saves as a freshman last season, pitched five scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory over Delaware State in the season opener.
The rest of Arkansas’ rotation will remain the same, with left-hander Geoffrey Davenport pitching against Utah (0-2) on Saturday and freshman right-handerBrandon Moore getting the start Sunday.
“[Baxendale] is our best pitcher all around and we decided to use him out of the pen this weekend,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “It’s not like he didn’t pitch well, because he had a great outing last Friday. We wanted to get Stanek in there against a quality opponent like Utah and see how he responds.”
Stanek, 6-4, came to Arkansas after being selected in the third round (No. 99 overall) by the Seattle Mariners in last year’s major-league draft. He has a standout fastball that he used to strike out six in four innings against Delaware State.
“I don’t know if I was as nervous as excited,” Stanek said of his debut. “Getting out there with all that energy should help to keep me calm throughout the game.”
The thought of using two true freshmen as starters is a bit scary for most coaches, especially in SEC play, but Arkansas has done it previously. In 2005, freshmen Nick Schmidt and Shaun Seibert were a combined 13-5 for an Arkansas team that finished 39-22.
Schmidt remained in the rotation for the rest of his career before being selected by the San Diego Padres in the first round of the 2007 draft.Seibert battled injuries but still managed to pitch four years for the Razorbacks.
“We threw two freshmen to open that first [SEC] weekend at South Carolina and won all three games,” Van Horn said. “We said let’s go with it again, and Nick never left Friday for three straight years.”
Arkansas (3-0) faces a Utah team that dropped a doubleheader last week to California, 7-0 and 6-5, after the first two games of the series were rained out. The Utes led 5-2 in the second game, but California rallied with four runs in the ninth.
“This is going to be a big step up in competition compared to last weekend,” Van Horn said. “Nothing against Delaware State, but Utah is definitely a more physical team. It’ll be more like aleague series.”
Utah finished 23-28 overall last season while competing in the Mountain West Conference. The Utes are led by C.J. Cron, a catcher/first baseman who was selected as a second-team All-American by Baseball America last season.
“This will be a really good experience for our guys,” Utah Coach Bill Kinneberg said. “[Arkansas] is a power in the SEC. Hopefully, we will play well and learn some things.”
Arkansas had few missteps while outscoring Delaware State by a combined 24-2 in three games last weekend. The Razorbacks allowed just 13 hits, and seven pitchers struck out a combined 37 batters.
Offensively, Kyle Robinson went 7 for 12 and Jarrod McKinney 5 for 8 to lead the Razorbacks.
TODAY’S GAME
Utah at Arkansas WHEN 3:05 p.m. today WHERE Baum Stadium, Fayetteville RECORDS Utah 0-2; Arkansas 2-0 PITCHING MATCHUPS Utah: Rick Anton (LHP, 0-1, 1.59 ERA); Arkansas: Ryne Stanek RHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Stanek moves into the rotation after pitching four hitless innings in relief against Delaware State last Saturday. He struck out six and walked two.
THE WEEK AHEAD TODAY vs. Utah, 3:05 p.m.
SATURDAY vs. Utah, 1:05 p.m.
SUNDAY vs. Utah, 12:35 p.m.
MONDAY off TUESDAY vs. McNeese St., 3:05 p.m.
WEDNESDAY vs. McNeese St., 3:05 p.m. THURSDAY off
Sports, Pages 13 on 02/25/2011