HOOVER, Ala. - Arkansas senior left-hander Randall Fant can’t match the velocity of teammates Ryne Stanek and Barrett Astin, but the Razorbacks’ No. 3 starter has been effective with his change up and slider and located his fastball well most of the season.
Fant (5-1, 2.08 ERA) will be looking to pitch the Razorbacks into Sunday’s SEC Tournament championship game when he starts against No. 2 LSU at noon today in a semifinal match up at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
“I’ll take Randall against anybody in the country,” Arkansas senior outfielder Matt Vinson said. “He’s a stud pitcher. He’s just like our other two guys. He has a different style, but I feel like whenever he’s on the mound we’re going to get a win somehow, some way.”
Fant struggled against LSU in a start at Baum Stadium this season, lasting just 2 2/3 innings and allowing 3 hits and 3 earned runs in a game the Tigers won 5-3 in 10 innings. He then pitched well in his four other SEC starts, including victories over Texas A&M and Tennessee, before going 2 1/3 innings and allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run in an 11-6 loss at Auburn last weekend.
“I feel good about Randall,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “The game at Auburn was by far his worst outing of the year. He was disappointed, obviously, but I expect him to go out and give us some quality innings and have a bound-back outing.”
LSU Coach Paul Mainier said Fant will be the first left-handed starter the Tigers have faced in several games and indicated he may get more right-handed batters into the lineup.
“I have a lot of respect for Fant,” Mainieri said. “I think he’s a good pitcher.
Everybody on Arkansas’ staff is a good pitcher it seems, so it will be a great challenge for us.”
Vinson’s hot
Arkansas center fielder Matt Vinson is the SEC Tournament’s leading hitter at .600 after going 3 for 5 against both Ole Miss and LSU.
“I’m just trying to get on base,” Vinson said. “I have good guys behind me. I feel like if I get on, one of those guys is going to drive me in.”
Vinson, a senior from Alma, has raised his season average to .303.
“Vinson’s had a great tournament,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said.
“He’ll probably be the first one to tell you he’s hit a lot of ground balls and they’ve found holes.
“He’s had some tough luck throughout the year where he’s hit a lot of line drives that have been right at people and been caught.
It’s been frustrating, but the longer we play the better chance he’s got to even that up.”
Loser goes home
The SEC Tournament format is somewhat confusing in that Tuesday’s first-round games were single elimination, Thursday’s and Friday’s games were double elimination, and today’s semifinals are back to single elimination with the winners advancing to play in Sunday’s final.
So if LSU beats Arkansas today, both teams will have one loss in the tournament but the Razorbacks will be eliminated.
Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said he doesn’t have a problem with the format because it’s preferable to playing five or six games if the entire tournament were double elimination.
“We’re trying to get teams ready for the [NCAA] regionals,” Van Horn said.
“It’s just the way it works.”
“I’m glad we’re sitting where we are. Hopefully we’ll win [today], and if we don’t, we’ll get out of here and get ready for a regional.”
Tough Tigers
LSU improved to 50-9 with its 3-2 victory over Alabama on Friday. The Tigers are 2-2 against Arkansas this season.
“There are no weaknesses with LSU,” Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said. “They’ve won 50 ballgames. They’ve been in this spot before. They’ll be tough.” Versatile Dom
Arkansas junior Dominic Ficociello started at his third different infield position in the past five games when he was in the lineup at second base Thursday night against LSU.
Fiociello started at second base so redshirt sophomore Eric Fisher could start at first. Fisher gave the Razorbacks another left-handed bat against LSU right-handed starter Aaron Nola.
Ficociello started at first base Wednesday against Ole Miss and started at third in the Razorbacks’ final two games at Auburn last weekend in place of senior Jacob Mahan, who was injured.
“Defensively, he can play anywhere,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said of Ficociello. “He hasn’t played shortstop for us, but he played shortstop in high school, and if we had to put him there, he’d probably get the job done.”
Arkansas freshman Jordan Farris, a right handed hitter, had started the past 15 games at second base prior to Thursday night, but he was 1 for 14 in his previous four games and struck out three times against Ole Miss.
Fisher had a lead off single in the ninth against LSU reliever Kurt McCune to help start a two-run rally. Farris came into the game at second base in the ninth inning and Ficociello moved to first after Jacob Morris pinch-ran for Fisher.
Day off
The Razorbacks, who held a light practice Friday at Samford University, were glad to have a break between games.
“We needed some rest,” Arkansas designated hitter Joe Serrano said. “We’ve been going pretty hard for a week and a day now that we’ve been the road. It starts to wear you down a little bit.”
Sports, Pages 23 on 05/25/2013