Noland leads Arkansas past Stanford
A dominant outing from Connor Noland on the mound and an offensive explosion from the fifth inning onward propelled the University of Arkansas past Stanford 17-2 in the opening round of the College World Series Saturday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
Arkansas outhit the Cardinal 21-7, and no Stanford batter registered more than one hit in the Razorbacks’ first win over Stanford since the 1985 College World Series. The win also marked the largest win by a Southeastern Conference team in College World Series history.
The Razorbacks, who managed only three hits in a 5-0 loss to Stanford in February, went on to hand the Cardinal the worst loss in a CWS since Arizona State hammered Wichita State 19-1 in 1988.
“What I’ve seen from them is a team that you know is disappointed how the regular season ended,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. “Once we got into postseason play I just felt like the team didn’t want to fail. They took a step forward, got over all the negativity and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to fight you to the end and hopefully it’ll go our way.’”
After both teams scored a run in the first inning and the game sat at 1-1 through four, the Razorbacks took the lead in the top of the fifth after Brady Slavens and Cayden Wallace both started the frame with singles. Chris Lanzilli then came to the plate and sent a blast over the left field wall for a 4-1 Arkansas advantage.
“We were seeing the ball well; it’s just we hit the ball right at them,” Stanford head coach David Esquer said. “Unfortunately Brock (Jones) hit a couple of balls into the teeth of the wind. I give them credit because Lanzilli’s home run, that was kind of the biggest pitch of the game.”
Lanzilli transferred to Arkansas from Wake Forest this season and came up big for the Razorbacks on a giant stage.
“I mean to play on this stage it’s really why I came here,” Lanzilli said. “To do something like that is awesome. To win the game is even better. I just want to keep it rolling.”
Continuing the momentum, Robert Moore came to the plate and ripped a single to right field before eventually scoring on a wild pitch. Leading 5-1, Zack Gregory singled to center and
drove in Peyton Stovall to give Arkansas a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the frame.
Noland (8-5) limited his pitch count to just 56 through the first six innings of the contest and kept a powerful Stanford lineup at bay throughout his outing.
“I knew they were going to swing the bat,” Noland said. “They’re an aggressive team. They like to put the ball in play. We had the wind blowing in. I get a lot of ground balls normally. I just stuck to the plan. They’re very aggressive. Didn’t get a lot of two strike counts. They just put the ball in play, and I let the defense work behind me.”
Noland allowed 6 hits, 1 run and 1 walk while striking out a batter through 7 2/3 innings of work. Kole Ramage replaced Noland in the bottom of the eighth with the starter’s pitch count sitting at just 79.
“He sets the tone for the whole weekend,” Van Horn said. “For him to pitch like he pitched in Game 1 and give us a chance to rest our guys and feel good about using our bullpen a couple times really from the sixth or seventh inning of his first outing three times in a row, it’s been big.
“You know he wants the ball. He’s not going to go out there and blow you away, but he knows how to pitch. We like it when other teams are hitting it and we’re fielding it.”
Jalen Battles extended the Razorbacks’ lead in the top of the seventh to 7-1 with a single into shallow center field that scored Moore from second. Jones’ throw from center was offline and not quite in time to catch the speedy second baseman at the plate.
Arkansas continued to add to its advantage when Slavens hit a single up the middle to plate Battles, and Wallace doubled to drive in Braydon Webb for a 9-1 lead.
The Razorbacks picked right back up in the top of the eighth after a walk from Moore and a double from Battles. Stovall then singled up the middle and drove in both for a 11-1 advantage.
Arkansas continued its hot streak in the top of the ninth with a six-run frame. Kendall Diggs pinch hit for Slavens to start the inning and walked before Wallace homered for a 13-2 edge.
The Razorbacks poured it on when Stovall singled through a gap in the left side of the infield to drive in Lanzilli and Dylan Leach.
After Jace Bohrofen worked a walk out of a 3-2 count, Webb doubled to center to plate Stovall and Bohrofen to set the final.
Webb got things started early for Arkansas with a leadoff triple before Slavens put the Razorbacks on the scoreboard with a sac fly.
Stanford responded with a home run from Jones just over the left field fence and just out of reach of Gregory’s glove during the first at-bat of the game for the national No. 2 seed.
Michael Turner went 4-for-6 for the Razorbacks on the day while Stovall accounted for 4 RBIS. Wallace and Lanzilli both tallied 3 RBIS, and Moore led the team with 3 runs.
Moore went 2-for-3 with 3 walks and had a very productive day at the plate for the Razorbacks in the six hole.
“If we can keep him going it’s big,” Van Horn said. “You can go on down the lineup a little bit more. It’s a lot of production. If Robert’s going it really helps us.”
Alex Williams (8-4) picked up the loss for Stanford, allowing 8 hits, 5 runs and 2 walks while fanning 6 through 4 1/3 innings of work.
The Razorbacks will play either Ole Miss or Auburn at 6 p.m. on Monday.