CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Missing nine consecutive baseball games earlier this season after suffering a finger injury did wonders for University of Arkansas freshman Peyton Stovall's game.
"Sometimes when you get off to the side, the game slows down for you," Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said after Arkansas beat Oklahoma State 7-3 on Monday night at O'Brate Stadium to win the NCAA Stillwater (Okla.) Regional. "You get to see that it's still a game and I'm good at it."
Stovall, one of the top recruits in the country, reminded everyone how good he is at the Stillwater Regional, where he batted .500 (8 for 16) with 5 runs scored and 2 driven in over 4 games to help the Razorbacks take the title and advance to a super regional at North Carolina this weekend.
The Razorbacks (41-19) open a best-of-three series against the Tar Heels (42-20) at 10 a.m. Central on Saturday at Boshamer Stadium.
Stovall, who also had some key plays on defense, was selected to the all-regional team in a media vote.
"We've been a close team all year, but it just felt different going into this regional," Stovall said Tuesday during his appearance on the "Out of Bounds" radio show on KABZ-FM, 103.7. "And man, it really, really showed.
"The resilience and toughness that we showed, that's a credit to our coaching staff. We're just excited to be able to have the opportunity to play another weekend."
Stovall, who throws right-handed and hits left-handed, is batting .367 (11 for 30) since he returned to the lineup on May 19 at Alabama to raise his season average from .255 to .275. He has 4 home runs, 7 doubles and 20 runs batted over 45 games, including 44 starts.
As a senior at Haughton (La.) High School last year, Stovall batted .505 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI in 35 games.
Stovall was rated the No. 29 prospect for the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft by MLB.com.
According to the Shreveport Times, Stovall turned down a signing bonus in the $2 million range when he withdrew his name from the draft on its second day to play for Arkansas.
"It would have been life-changing money, but I want to win SEC championships and national championships at Arkansas," Stovall told the Times. "The draft will still be there in three years."
Van Horn said the preseason expectations for Stovall weren't fair to a player who turned 19 on Feb. 14 -- four days before Arkansas' season opener against Illinois State.
"The kid had a lot of pressure on him to start the year," Van Horn said. "Too much hype.
"Nobody can play in this league that well, a lot of times, when you have that on you."
Along with trying to live up to the preseason hype, Stovall has played first base this season rather than shortstop -- his high school position -- or second or third base. Those positions are held by returning starters Jalen Battles, Robert Moore and Cayden Wallace.
To get Stovall in the lineup, Van Horn moved him to first base.
Next season Stovall likely will be a middle infielder, which is why Van Horn had him practicing at second base before Arkansas played Ole Miss on April 30 after he went 0 for 2 with a walk the previous game when the Razorbacks won 4-2.
Stovall, who wasn't going to play in the game when he was taking grounders at second base, had a ball bounce hard and hit his middle right finger.
"It was bleeding all over the place," Van Horn said.
Stovall missed the final two games against Ole Miss, a mid-week game against Missouri State and six games combined against Auburn and Vanderbilt before returning to the lineup at Alabama and hitting a two-run home run in the Razorbacks' 7-3 victory.
"He was upbeat, and I think he worked hard during his time off," Van Horn said. "He didn't sit around and pout or anything. He was like, 'Hey, I'm going to use this time to get better and I'm going to get back in there.'
"I didn't tell him before the game that he was going to start, but I think he had a good idea by the way I moved him around in practice a little bit and where I put him on the batting practice chart last night that he had a good opportunity to start, and he took advantage of it."
Stovall said he has been relaxed since coming back from his injury.
"I took a lot of pressure off myself. I hold myself to a very high standard. I'm very hard on myself," Stovall said on his "Out of Bounds" appearance. "So when I'm not doing my best, I just beat myself up over it.
"Coming in with a lot of expectations, I finally realized, just be me. Be Peyton Stovall and be the player that I've always been."
Stovall had two RBI singles in the final game of the Stillwater Regional, including one in the sixth inning that extended Arkansas' lead to 5-1.
"My confidence was really high at the plate," Stovall said on "Out of Bounds." "I was swinging at the right pitches. When I was hitting the ball, it was finding some barrels.
"I just kept trying to slow down, take deep breaths and realize that there's more to the world than baseball. There are people overseas fighting for our country. This isn't the end of the world."
Arkansas senior catcher Michael Turner, voted the most outstanding player of the Stillwater Regional by the media, said Stovall has sought him out for advice as well as Wallace.
"I think we helped him relax a little bit," Turner said. "Now he's just being himself like he was in high school last year when he was having all these prestigious, big things said about him.
"Like Coach said, it's a lot of pressure. So when Peyton relaxes and plays like himself, he's the real deal."
Up next
Arkansas vs. North Carolina
WHAT Game 1 of NCAA Chapel Hill Super Regional
WHEN 10 a.m. Central on Saturday
WHERE Boshamer Stadium, Chapel Hill, N.C.
RECORDS Arkansas 42-19, North Carolina 42-20
TV ESPN
RADIO Razorback Sports Network
SERIES Arkansas leads 1-0
Peyton Stovall