Auburn pitcher’s miserly with walks
FAYETTEVILLE — Patience doesn’t figure to be a sound strategy for the Arkansas Razorbacks’ hitters when they face Auburn starting pitcher Casey Mize.
The No. 8 Razorbacks (21-9, 5-4 SEC) open a three-game series against No. 15 Auburn (23-7, 4-5) and Mize at 6:30 tonight in Baum Stadium.
Mize (6-0, 2.11 ERA) has 70 strikeouts and 3 walks in 47 innings. Those are the most strikeouts and fewest walks by an SEC pitcher who averages at least one inning per appearance.
“He makes it tough for you, because you’d like to get his pitch count up and get him out of the game in the seventh inning,” University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Coach Dave Van Horn said. “But at the same time, you go up there to swing.
“Maybe your best chance to hit him is one of the first couple of pitches. We’ll just go in there and attack him the best we can and see what’s going on.”
Mize, a junior right-hander from Springville, Ala., pitched Auburn’s first no-hitter since 2002 when the Tigers beat Northeastern 6-0 on March 9. He had 13 strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter in 105 pitches. A throwing error in the third inning by Auburn shortstop Will Holland allowed Northeastern’s only base runner and prevented Mize from having a perfect game.
“In 27 years, that’s about as good as I’ve seen on the mound,” said Auburn Coach Butch Thompson, who also was an assistant at Mississippi State and Georgia. “I’ve seen some good ones.
“Just being in this league for 17 years, you’re going to get to coach some really good ballplayers and pitchers especially. But start to finish, Casey Mize, that’s probably about as good as I’ve seen.”
In Mize’s past 302/3 innings starting with the Northeastern game, he has 45 strikeouts without a walk.
“If he’s just filling it up like they say he’s been doing and what we’ve seen through video mostly, we’ll just have to be aggressive,” Van Horn said. “We don’t want to get behind in the count and give him even more of an advantage.”
The Razorbacks didn’t face Mize last season when Thompson held him out of the Arkansas series for what he called arm fatigue. Mize finished last season 8-2 with a 2.04 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 832/3 innings.
When Van Horn spoke to the Swatter’s Club on Monday, he called Mize “a right-handed David Price,” in reference to the Vanderbilt left-hander who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft and won the Cy Young Award in 2012 with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Price had 17 strikeouts against Arkansas in 2006 when the Commodores beat the Razorbacks 7-1.
“They’ve got a superstar ace,” Van Horn said of comparing Mize to Price. “Everybody in professional baseball and college baseball writers are throwing his name out there as the first pick in the draft.
“The guy throws 95-plus [miles per hour] all the way up to 98, 99. He has a nasty kind of a split-finger sinker type pitch that you just don’t hit it.
“A lot of times it starts in the zone and then it dances out. Too late, you already swung.”
Arkansas will counter Mize with Blaine Knight, a junior right-hander from Bryant who has developed into the Razorbacks’
unquestioned ace the past two seasons with a combined 13-4 record.
Knight (5-0, 2.01 ERA) has 42 strikeouts and 10 walks in 402/3 innings this season.
“I think Blaine’s been really solid,” Van Horn said. “He’s been really good a few days, his stuff’s been great. But even on days when it’s just OK, the more mature, old Blaine Knight — experienced guy — knows how to get through some innings.
“Pitching’s not all about velocity. It’s about location and having some guts out there and finding a way, and he’s done a pretty good job.”
The Razorbacks have won all three of their SEC series openers in which Knight has started — beating Kentucky, Florida and Ole Miss — so he’s used to going against opposing No. 1 pitchers.
“I’ll treat it like I have every other Friday night,” Knight said of starting against Mize. “It’s just another guy in our way to winning. I’m going to come out and attack and compete and see what I can do.”
Knight went 8-4 with a 3.28 ERA last season, but he had a rough start at Auburn when the Tigers beat the Razorbacks 15-2. He lasted 21/3 innings and allowed 8 hits and 8 earned runs with 4 walks and 1 strikeout.
“The way I see it, they got lucky last year,” Knight said. “They caught me on an off day. They happened to be hot. I don’t plan on that happening twice.”
Van Horn was asked whether he expects last season’s Auburn loss to be a driving force for Knight.
“I think everything’s driving him this year to be honest with you,” Van Horn said. “I think what drives him is every time he gets the ball he’s facing somebody’s No. 1 pitcher and it’s a big game.”
Arkansas freshman left fielder Heston Kjerstad, who is batting .400 with 8 home runs and 31 RBI, said he’s excited to face Mize, but he’s glad to have Knight going for the Razorbacks.
“Blaine’s our guy, and anytime you give him the ball, he’s going to get it done,” Kjerstad said. “He’s going to find a way.”