FAYETTEVILLE — It’s no secret Arkansas’ pitching staff was expected to be the team’s strength in 2012.
Top-notch starters D.J. Baxendale and Ryne Stanek were back. So, too, were impressive relievers like Barrett Astin and Nolan Sanburn. And there was even a crop of newcomers expected to strengthen a group already regarded as one of the deepest in the NCAA.
But Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was still surprised his pitching staff kept opponents scoreless for 28 1/3 consecutive innings over four games last week.
“You’re going to give up a run here or there,” Van Horn said. “It just happens. So to go 28-plus innings without giving one up, you know, that’s pretty special.”
The scoreless streak finally ended in the seventh inning of Arkansas’ 5-3 win against Gonzaga on Wednesday night. But the dominance is an indication the Razorbacks (16-2) are confident as they move into Southeastern Conference play with a weekend series against Alabama (8-9), which begins in Baum Stadium tonight.
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“Our pitching staff has done a great job so far this year,” Baxendale said. “The first couple of outings as a team, we kind of came out slow. But we just really bared down and started working on the little things with (pitching) coach (Dave) Jorn. It’s really showing itself on the field. But we’re still working every day to get better. Our big goal is not to get complacent.”
Arkansas opens the conference schedule with three shutouts in its previous five games. The lengthy scoreless streak began in the sixth inning of a 5-3 win against Binghamton and included two straight shutouts.
It ended when Gonzaga hit a two-run home run off freshman Greg Milhorn in the seventh inning Wednesday.
“We took pride in it,” Astin said. “We were just competing with ourselves as to who was going to be the first one to give up the run. We look back on last year, the start of the SEC Tournament when the relievers went out and had maybe 18 (scoreless) innings. We learned from that and we believe we can do it again.”
Perhaps the most impressive part of the streak: 10 different pitchers contributed to the success.
“We’ve been able to use a lot of guys so far this year,” Baxendale said. “That’s going to be good for us in the long run. We’re not going to have to rely on just one or two guys and wear out arms.”
Arkansas carries a 2.18 staff earned run average into the Alabama series, which is ranked among the top 10 in the nation. Individually, Baxendale entered the week tied for the NCAA lead in wins, collecting five in his five starts this season. Stanek isn’t far behind, though, winning each of his first four starts in 2012.
Then there’s Astin, who hasn’t given up a run in his eight appearances so far. Arkansas’ closer downplayed his own performance, saying it’s “just average.” He was much more complimentary about the staff’s performance.
“We’re a little bit ahead of schedule with what we planned on doing,” Astin said. “But we’re not content.
“Once you get content, that’s when you get beat.”
It may be a lot to expect Arkansas to put together another 28-inning scoreless streak with conference play beginning. There’s no reason to think the pitching staff’s success can’t continue after the strong start.