Apparently pitching’s still a problem for Arkansas. It’s been that way for a while now and Thursday night at Auburn, it cost the Razorbacks again — badly.
For the fifth straight game they couldn’t get anybody out. The offense didn’t help much, either.
The 16th-ranked Hogs walked into Plainsman Park against the SEC’s lowest-scoring team through three weeks of conference play and they left on the wrong end of a 10-2 beatdown.
The 11th-ranked Tigers didn’t just win the series opener. They sent a message, busting loose for a seven-run fifth inning that turned a one-run game into a blowout.
Game two of the series is set for Friday at 6 p.m.
Arkansas dropped to 19-12 overall and 4-6 in the SEC. The Hogs haven’t lost five games in a row since 2020, and Thursday’s result made it five straight.
Auburn, meanwhile, snapped a four-game skid of its own, improving to 21-8 and 5-5 in league play.
Gaeckle struggles, Gibler can’t stop bleeding
Starting right-hander Gabe Gaeckle didn’t make it out of the fifth inning, and the damage he left behind was considerable.
The inning started with the game knotted at 1-1 and Gaeckle walking Bristol Carter to lead off. Carter moved up on a passed ball, and Chase Fralick’s RBI double to right-center gave Auburn a 2-1 edge.
Chris Rembert then walked on Gaeckle’s 88th and final pitch after a full count. It was a telling sign of how the outing had gone — Gaeckle ran a three-ball count on 10 of the 21 batters he faced.
Left-hander Cole Gibler came in to stop the bleeding, but it didn’t work out that way. Bub Terrell singled to load the bases before Eric Guevara’s RBI single pushed every runner up 90 feet.
Eddie Madrigal struck out for the inning’s first out, but then Ethin Bingaman and Mason McCraine each laced consecutive two-run singles, and just like that, Auburn led 7-1.
Coach Dave Van Horn pulled Gibler at that point after just 20 pitches — a decision that should keep the lefty available later in the weekend.
Brandon McCraine, Mason’s older brother, greeted reliever Steele Eaves with an RBI single on the first pitch he saw, scoring Mason and capping the seven-run frame. Arkansas trailed 8-1, and the game was effectively over.
Gaeckle’s final line: four-plus innings, four runs, six hits, four walks and three strikeouts on 88 pitches. He threw just 46 of them for strikes.
Alvarez keeps Razorbacks off balance
Auburn’s Andreas Alvarez didn’t have an easy night on paper, but he made it look that way against the Razorbacks.
Typically the Tigers’ midweek starter, Alvarez was held back specifically for Thursday’s start to keep Auburn’s weekend rotation on normal rest.
It was his first SEC appearance of the season, and he delivered — six innings, one run, six hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts on 105 pitches.
He threw 69 of those for strikes and kept mixing in off-speed pitches to keep Arkansas hitters guessing all night.
Helfrick’s power streak continues
The Razorbacks’ lone bright spot Thursday came in the fourth inning when Ryder Helfrick launched a 374-foot home run to right field.
It was his 10th homer of the season, best on the team, and his fifth in a seven-game stretch. That shot put Arkansas ahead 1-0 and briefly made things look promising.
Auburn answered right away. Terrell led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, and Guevara and Madrigal both walked to load the bases with nobody out.
Bingaman’s sacrifice fly to left tied it at 1-1, though Gaeckle kept it from getting worse by stranding runners at second and third when Mason McCraine struck out looking and Brandon McCraine grounded out to shortstop.
The reprieve was short-lived.
Hit totals tell a concerning story
Auburn finished with 13 hits Thursday. That’s the third straight game an opponent has hit double digits against the Hogs.
Florida had 17 hits in a 7-6 win to close out a sweep last weekend. Missouri State had 14 hits in a 15-14, ten-inning victory Tuesday. Arkansas has allowed 44 hits over its last three games.
Guevara added a 384-foot home run to right-center off Luke Cornelison in the sixth to push the lead to 9-1.
In the eighth against Carson Brumbaugh, Carter scored on Rembert’s RBI double. Rembert tried to score on Terrell’s flyout, but center fielder Maika Niu gunned him down — a run that, if it had scored, would’ve triggered the run rule and ended the game early.
Arkansas got one more in the ninth when Carter Rutenbar and Nolan Souza hit back-to-back doubles against Auburn reliever LJ Cormier.
The Hogs finished with 10 hits but stranded 10 runners, a combination that’s hard to overcome against anyone.
The Razorbacks’ pitching needs answers, and they need them fast. Friday’s game is another chance to stop the slide — but Auburn’s feeling good right now, and Arkansas hasn’t found a way to slow anybody down lately.
