Ryne Stanek threw a career-best 7 2/3 innings, allowing just two hits as Arkansas beat Alabama 4-1 in an elimination game Friday at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.
Stanek, a freshman, atoned for a poor outing in a start last weekend, when he wasn’t able to make it out of the first inning in a start against Ole Miss. The Overland Park, Kan., native looked sharp against the Crimson Tide, allowing only five base-runners to reach.
Sophomore left-hander Trent Daniel retired all four batters he faced to record his third save of the season.
“I thought we played extremely well,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “Ryne Stanek probably threw his best game of the year and it was a good time for it. He had one inning where he had to battle but pitched threw it. I thought Trent Daniel came in and closed it down well. It was a good win for us.”
As Arkansas jumped ahead 1-0 on a first inning RBI hit by Dominic Ficociello, Stanek retired 10 straight batters before running into trouble in the fourth inning. Alabama tied the game on an Austin Smith RBI hit, but the Crimson Tide stranded two runners to end the inning.
Stanek finished the game with five strikeouts and retired eight Alabama batters on the first pitch of the at-bat.
“We didn’t have a lot of tape or anything on him, but obviously we knew he had a big arm,” Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said. “We knew he had turned down a lot of money in the draft. I wasn’t expecting his command to be what it was. I knew it was going to be a live arm and it was.
“A couple of good guys, real experienced hitters came back early in the game and said, ‘This guy’s really good, he’s got really good stuff.’ I’m sure Dave and their group’s got to be real excited about that as they move into next week. That’s a real bullet you’ve got now, as you move forward.”
Arkansas (38-19) helped bolster its resume to host an NCAA regional next weekend by atoning for a 7-4 loss to the Crimson Tide in the tournament’s first game Wednesday.
Kyle Robinson led the Razorbacks offensively against Alabama, following a fourth inning solo home run with an RBI double in the sixth to extend Arkansas’ lead to 3-1. Robinson scored a run on Matt Vinson’s RBI double in the eighth inning to give the Razorbacks an insurance run.
“Kyle struggled all year in league play,” Van Horn said. “Sometimes you have to just sit down and slow the game down. That’s what he did. His batting practice has been a lot better. He’s more focused. Sometimes when you play so many games, you get into a rut. The home run he hit was the biggest swing of the day. They had just scored, but we took the momentum right back with that home run.”
Arkansas will face Vanderbilt in the tournament semifinals Saturday, needing to beat the No. 2 Commodores twice to play in the tournament championship game on Sunday. The teams will meet at 9:30 a.m., with a second game at approximately 5 p.m., if necessary.
You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.
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