Aloy’s pinch-hit double, Root’s domination on mound lifts Hogs past TCU

ARLINGTON, Texas — Kuhio Aloy’s pinch-hit two-run double in the seventh backed up Zach Root’s dominant 10-strikeout performance on the mound, leading No. 5 Arkansas (5-1) to a 2-1 win against No. 22 TCU (5-1).

The was in front of an announced crowd of 17,994 fans Saturday night in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Saturday’s attendance marked the second-largest crowd for a college baseball game in Globe Life Field history behind a crowd of 20,295 on Feb. 18, 2023, set during the Arkansas-TCU game in the Higginbotham College Baseball Showdown.

Making his second start as a Razorback, Root shined on the big stage with a masterful pitching performance against the top 25 ranked Horned Frogs.

The left-hander, who transferred to Arkansas from ECU, spun five innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts, matching his career high, while allowing only two hits and issuing a pair of walks in the outing.

After exchanging zeroes for the game’s first three innings, TCU broke through first in the bottom of the fourth. A fielding error brought home a run, but Root hunkered down to strike out the next two batters and strand the bases loaded.

Fellow left-hander Landon Beidelschies, who started on the mound in the finale of the Opening Weekend series against Washington State, entered in relief of Root and fired 2.2 shutout frames to earn his second win of the year, silencing the Horned Frog offense and giving the Razorback bats an opportunity to come alive in the top half of the seventh inning.

Consecutive walks to Logan Maxwell and Brent Iredale to lead off the inning set the table for Cam Kozeal’s sac bunt, which moved runners up to second and third.

When Aloy came to the plate as a pinch hitter for Kendall Diggs to face a left-handed pitcher, TCU responded by removing starter Tommy LaPour and bringing in a right-hander from the bullpen.

Aloy, however, did not flinch, hammering the very first pitch he saw from Horned Frog reliever Gianluca Shinn to left field for a two-run double, putting the Razorbacks ahead for the first time in the ballgame.

Arkansas’ one-run lead would prove to be all it needed, as Beidelschies and Christian Foutch (1.1 IP, 1 SO) combined for four scoreless innings in relief.

Foutch, who earned his first save of the season, ran into trouble in the bottom of the ninth, working around a single, two walks and an error that allowed TCU to put the game’s tying run at third base with two outs.

The hard-throwing right-hander stranded Horned Frog base runners at second and third with a game-ending strikeout to seal the Hogs’ win.

Arkansas closes out the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series from inside the home of the Texas Rangers Saturday morning against Michigan.

First pitch between the Razorbacks and Wolverines is set for 11 a.m. on FloCollege.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.