HOOVER, Ala. -- Center fielder Andrew Benintendi supplied the bulk of the Arkansas offense with a home run and three RBI, but pitcher Keaton McKinney didn't need a whole lot of run support Saturday in a 4-0 victory over Alabama at the Hoover Met.
McKinney, a 6-5, 220-pound freshman from Ankeny, Iowa, had perhaps his best outing of a first season already filled with solid performances. McKinney (4-1) allowed singles in the third and ninth inning and only one Alabama base runner advanced as far as second base. He struck out two, walked none and threw 100 pitches as Arkansas (29-18, 14-10 SEC) completed its first conference sweep this season.
"Definitely every time out it's a learning experience and it helps you grow," McKinney said. "In the SEC, it's tough, a lot of good hitters -- one through nine. It's a lot different from high school ball. Every time out I'm learning new stuff that I can take to my next outing."
It was McKinney's second complete-game victory in the SEC, with the other coming in a 7-3 victory over Kentucky on March 12, and his first career complete-game shutout.
"It's one of his best games," said Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn, whose 23rd-ranked team is 19-4 since April 3. "He's had a couple that almost mirror each other. You know, just a lot of fastballs for strikes on both sides of the plate, mixing in that change-up and keeping them off balance. Getting some pop-ups and some jammed ground balls. It's been fun to watch."
Saturday's performance included 15 ground ball outs and very few well-struck balls. McKinney had one inning, the sixth, when it took just six pitches to get three ground-ball outs.
"I'm more of a contact pitcher, so that just gives me so much more confidence to put the ball in the strike zone and know these guys are going to make the plays behind me," McKinney said.
Offensively, the Razorbacks were solid with nine hits, including five for extra bases, but didn't score more than one run in an inning against the Crimson Tide (23-24, 8-16). Benintendi hit his national-best 15th home run and second baseman Rick Nomura had a ninth-inning home run. First baseman Clark Eagan had two doubles among his three hits, and Joe Serrano doubled.
Benintendi provided the spark with an RBI single in the third inning, a sixth-inning home run that hit the back wall of the Alabama bullpen in right and a sacrifice fly that scored Serrano in the eighth inning.
Benintendi became the first player in Arkansas history to have at least 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season and extended his streak of reaching base to 20 games. He's had at least one hit in 18 of those 20 games.
"He's been real good probably the last month and a half," Van Horn said. "He kind of got on fire maybe six weeks ago, kind of when we started going a little bit. He started driving in runs, but what's really kicked him over the top is he's not really swinging at a lot of bad pitches. He's just been a tough out."
Benintendi said the key has been the performance of the hitters around him but also tipped his cap to McKinney on Saturday.
"Momentum starts on the mound," Benintendi said. "When our pitcher can throw strikes like he did today and get us back in the dugout, I think that puts more pressure on them and less on us."
Sports on 05/03/2015