LITTLE ROCK — Ryne Stanek said Arkansas fans shouldn’t get too worried about the recent struggles of DJ Baxendale, the Razorbacks No. 1 pitcher.
Stanek pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings Saturday to lead the Razorbacks to an 8-0 victory over Mississippi State to even the series at 1-1. The victory came one day after the Bulldogs pounded Baxendale for 8 runs and 9 hits in 3 innings during an 11-2 victory over the Razorbacks.
Baxendale is still 5-1 on the season, but he’s had three consecutive subpar performances after being named a preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
“DJ is one of my really good friends, and I know he’s going to be all right,” said Stanek, who warmed up with Baxendale while Arkansas scored six runs in the sixth inning Saturday. “It’s something everybody goes through. I struggled last year and he’s struggling now, but it’s not the end of the world. I just tell him to continue to work hard and do what you do.”
Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said he’ll stick with Baxendale as the No. 1 starter and Stanek as the No. 2 for now despite Baxendale’s recent struggles.
“There’s always that possibility, but I don’t think we’re going to jump to that yet,” Van Horn said of flipping the two in the rotation. “Sometimes, you don’t even flip-flop. I’ve seen it where you take your Friday night guy and stick him on Sunday. It’s still three games and, hopefully, DJ will have a great outing next weekend for us.”
More for Bleeker?
Derrick Bleeker was back in the Arkansas lineup Saturday after he made his first appearance as a pitcher for the Razorbacks on Friday.
Bleeker started in left field and had two hits after he pitched one inning in a mop-up role during Friday’s 11-2 loss to Mississippi State. The 6-5 junior showed promise on the mound by striking out three of the four batters he faced. He allowed one hit and no walks.
Bleeker played last season at Howard (Texas) Junior College, where he batted .318 and picked up 2 saves with a 2.84 earned run average in 122/3 innings in relief.
“I recruited him here two years ago to be a pitcher,” Van Horn said of Bleeker, who hit two home runs in a game against Binghamton earlier this season. “We pitched him a little in the fall, but his arm was sore and his heart wasn’t really in it. I asked him [Friday] if he wanted to throw an inning, and he was all excited. “He did a good job. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see him out there some more.”
On the stick
Mississippi State has come up with a fun way to track its significant victories this season. Mississippi State keeps a long piece of wood in its dugout that resembles a walking stick and includes the names of ranked teams the Bulldogs have beaten this year. No. 10 LSU was carved into the stick after the Bulldogs beat the Tigers 7-1 last Sunday and added No. 3 Arkansas’ name after Friday’s 11-2 victory over the Razorbacks. Mississippi State will have plenty more chances to add names, considering the Bulldogs play in the SEC, which has six teams ranked in the Baseball America’s top 25.
Circling the bases
Mississippi State had to search its record book after Hunter Renfroe hit an inside-the-park home run to spark the Bulldogs to an 11-2 victory over Arkansas on Friday night. It was the first insidethe-park home run by a Mississippi State player since 2004, when Brad Corley did it against Louisiana Tech. Corley watched from the dugout as Renfroe circled the bases after Arkansas’ Jacob Morris fell down while attempting to make the catch in deep center field. “I can’t believe it’s been eight years since somebody’s done that,” said Corley, who is back at Mississippi State as an undergraduate assistant. “It was the exact same play where the ball hit off the wall in center field, and the center fielder hit the wall and fell down.” Corley plans to graduate from Mississippi State in May after he put his education on hold while playing professionally in the minors for seven years.
Sports, Pages 26 on 03/25/2012