Stanek shines in Houston

Stanek misses the cut off for the 2012 MLB draft by just a few days. But plenty of scouts in attendance in Arkansas' 3-1 win over the Red Raiders certainly wished they had an opportunity to draft him this summer.

The chatter from the scouts throughout his performance was amusing, but certainly in a good way. On multiple occasions, the phrase "wow, he's only getting better," was heard.

At the end of the day, Stanek put together one of his most impressive performances in an Arkansas uniform. He struck out seven batters and allowed just a run on six hits in just seven innings of work.

"I thought he was really, really good in the windup. He was amped up at the start of the game and was throwing hard," Texas Tech coach Dan Spencer said. "Our report said he threw hard, but that even though his breaking ball was a good pitch, it wasn't one that he could consistently throw for strikes. In fact, he threw that pitch for strikes today."

Simply put, Stanek's stuff was nasty against the Red Raiders. He consistently threw his fastball in the 90-93 range, touching 97 at one point early in the contest, and 96 a couple of times in the fourth and fifth innings.

In addition to the fastball, Stanek had a strong four-pitch mix working. He was 85-86 with his slider, 78-81 with his curveball and 89-90 with the cutter. At times, he also mixed in a changeup, a pitch that he has worked on since high school to refine.

"Everything felt good out there today. I was able to keep the ball in the zone. Honestly, that was all I wanted to do out there today," Stanek said. "My secondary stuff has gotten a lot better. I can consistently throw those pitches for more strikes now."

Seeing significant progress from Stanek shouldn't come as too big of a surprise, but the consistency certainly is to an extent.

Stanek showed the ability to be a dominant force last season. He put together some great starts, certainly down the stretch. But as a whole, he finished his first campaign with a 3.94 ERA in 64 innings, good, but far from great overall. He also struck out 41, walked 26 and limited teams to a .213 batting average.

The talented right-hander then had a solid summer with Team USA and at the Cape Cod League. With Team USA, he had a 1.00 ERA in nine innings, while at the Cape, he had a 4.50 ERA in 16 innings of work, but only in a couple of outings.

"The way he pitched today is the way he pitched last summer. His first couple of innings this spring, he wasn't quite as sharp, but that's normal," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "His mechanics aren't just a little better than they were last season, they're a lot better. He's more under control, he's smoother, not as herky jerky, and he doesn't have to try to max effort everything out there on the mound. He probably throws harder when he's free and easy like he was today. I thought he got better as the game progressed."

Stanek didn't make any particular adjustment to his arm angle during offseason, but worked extra hard on slowing down his delivery and not getting in too big of a hurry on the mound. He also made significant strides from a mental standpoint, something Van Horn noted after the game.

Moving forward, there's no doubt Arkansas will throw ace pitcher DJ Baxendale to start most weekend series. But Stanek showed against the Red Raiders that he already has ace-like potential.

That's great news for the Razorbacks, but even better news for Stanek's future.


TEXAS ... AN OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT?

Maybe a fierce bout with in-state rival Rice was all Texas needed to get back on track, particularly from an offensive standpoint.

Just a week ago, the Longhorns were sitting in Palo Alto, California, trying to figure out how to turn around their offensive woes. That night, the Longhorns were mystified by Stanford All-American right-handed pitcher Mark Appel.

They didn't recover the rest of the weekend against the Cardinal, getting swept in ugly fashion and scoring just five runs the entire series.

Even after a midweek win over Houston Baptist, Texas still entered Friday's contest against Rice with a dismal .195 batting average.

You'd never know that by the Longhorns' approach and production against All-American Austin Kubitza and the Owls in an impressive 11-8 triumph.

"The explanation [on lack of offense in the past] was, that's just baseball. That's how baseball works sometimes," Texas outfielder Jonathan Walsh said. "We know we can hit, we're a confident group. All we can do is work hard, and we're glad it carried over to the weekend and we got a win tonight."

Walsh had a big-time day for the Longhorns, going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a run scored and an RBI. But beyond him, the ‘Horns got two hits from both Tim Maitland and Erich Weiss, as the top four hitters in the UT lineup finished the contest with seven of the team’s 13 hits. Meanwhile, freshman second baseman Brooks Marlow collected three hits and three RBIs to help the cause.

Texas did some serious damage to the Rice pitching staff. Kubitza walked five batters, missing often high and outside, and allowed two runs and was lifted after just 1 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, veteran left-hander Taylor Wall allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings and John Simms allowed three runs without pitching an inning.

“We just stayed within ourselves,” Walsh said. “We pitch well and play good defense, but today we also swung the sticks. It’s not how you start [the season], but it’s about how you finish, the future.”

Though Walsh didn’t have an explanation for UT’s sudden offensive surge, Garrido explained that while the players produced in tonight’s game, there are at least two coaches that deserve credit for the quick turnaround.

“Coach Harmon and Russ really spent a lot of time preparing the guys for the game and they really did a good job of giving them some confidence,” Garrido said. “They gave them a simple offensive plan. A lot of this is about timing. You have to put your foot down to see the ball clearly, and that’s a hard thing for young players to do. They also spent a lot of time on relaxation and the mental aspect of the game."

Time will tell if Friday's win over Rice turns out to be a turning point for this Texas team. But chew on these stats: Entering the contest against the Owls, the Longhorns had scored just 23 runs in their first eight games of the season.

Texas scored 11 runs against the Owls. And that folks, is some progress.


HOUSTON'S RAY OF SUNSHINE

Houston senior pitcher Jared Ray just might be the spark Todd Whitting's program needs as the 2012 season continues.

In the days and months leading up to the season, Whitting often talked about the improvements Ray had made since the end of the 2011 campaign. He also boasted about Ray's velocity, which was consistently 91-93 during fall and spring workouts.

Some of that talk can often be just what it was ... talk. But not with Ray. Not even close. It was all true.

Ray put together arguably one of the best starts of his collegiate career in a 7-4 triumph over Tennessee. He struck out the first six batters he faced, ending the contest with a career-high 10 strikeouts, while allowing just a run on five hits in seven innings of work.

"Jared was just outstanding. He went out there and set the tone for us, and that's as good as I've seen Jared Ray. When you strikeout that many people and guys are swinging and missing, that means your'e rocking and rolling."

Ray, who has battled through three surgeries and actually missed the entire 2010 season because of an injury, was thrilled to get back on the big stage and perform at a high level.

"It feels good to be healthy again. I'm not worried about week-to-week anymore, I know I'm going to have my stuff when I go out and pitch," Ray said. "My arm is definitely in much better shape. I know I'm healthy and there's some confidence in that. As good of shape my arm is in, I wouldn't be surprised if my velocity wasn't down much late."

Ray didn't have to rely on much against the Volunteers. He threw mostly fastballs and sliders at the Volunteers. He consistently sat 90-92 with his fastball, throwing a few 93s in there, too. Meanwhile, his slider sat in the 81-83 range.

Across Houston at Rice University, Owls right-handed pitcher senior Matthew Reckling is making much noise as a potential lucrative senior sign. But at Houston, the Cougars have a stud senior of their own.

Ray's only getting better, too.

Kendall Rogers is the college baseball managing editor for Perfect Game and can be reached at kendall@perfectgame.org