FAYETTEVILLE — DJ Baxendale, whose pitching helped carry Arkansas to the College Worlds Seriesthis season, signed Wednesday with the Minnesota Twins.
Baxendale, a 6-2 right-hander from Jacksonville, was a 10 th-rounddraft pick by the Twins earlier this month before the Razorbacks won the Hous-ton Regional at Rice, a Super Regional at Baylor and went 2-2 at the College World Series.
Minnesota has assigned Baxendale to Elizabethton, Tenn., the Twins’ advanced rookie team in the Appalachian League.
“So happy to officially be part of the Twins organization,” Baxendale posted on his Twitter account after signing. “Thank you Razorback fans for all your support.”
Baxendale, a junior, set an Arkansas single-season record with 20 starts in 2012, finishing with an 8-5 record and a 3.11 earned average while pitching a team-high 107 innings. He led the Razorbacks with 96 strikeouts and held hitters to a .236 batting average.
Over Baxendale’s last 12starts, he had a 2.18 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings.
During Baxendale’s three seasons at Arkansas he pitched in 68 games, including 36 starts, and went 18-9 with 10 saves and a 2.71 ERA with 217 strikeouts. He primarily was a reliever as a freshman in 2010 before taking on more of a starting role as a sophomore.
Baxendale ranks among the top 10 on the Razorbacks’ career list in appearances (tied for sixth), ERA (eighth), saves (tied for eighth) and strikeouts (ninth).
Baxendale is the third Razorback from this season’s team to sign professionally, joining third baseman Matt Reynolds (New York Mets) and outfielder Sam Bates (Kansas City Royals).
Blake Baxendale, DJ’s younger brother, will be a freshman catcher for the Razorbacks next season.
Sports, Pages 13 on 06/28/2012