OXFORD, Miss. — No. 3 Arkansas (17-2, 1-1 SEC) swatted back-to-back-to-back homers in the top of the fifth inning to spark an eight-run frame and blast its way past No. 13 Ole Miss (15-3, 1-1 SEC), 12-3, Saturday night at Swayze Field.
The win was coach Dave Van Horn’s 900th in 23 seasons at the helm of the Razorback program. With the win, the Hogs improved to 17-2 overall through their first 19 games for the eighth time in the Van Horn era (2003-pres).
Arkansas, winners of seven consecutive SEC Opening Weekend series, will look to clinch the series win Sunday afternoon when it squares off against Ole Miss at 1:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.
The Razorbacks have not lost an SEC-opening series since the 2016 season and have not lost a regular-season series to the Rebels since the 2019 campaign.
Five Arkansas home runs, highlighted by the back-to-back-to-back blasts by Charles Davalan (4-for-6, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI), Wehiwa Aloy (1-for-5, HR, RBI) and Kuhio Aloy (1-for-5, HR, RBI) in the fifth, were the difference in Saturday’s contest.
Razorback starter Gabe Gaeckle, making his first Saturday start of the season, turned in four innings of work, overcoming adversity to limit the Rebel offense to two runs on one hit and three walks while striking out a career-high eight batters.
Brent Iredale’s sacrifice fly in the top half of the first gave Arkansas an early one-run lead, but Ole Miss promptly responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.
Gaeckle settled down after his shaky first and posted three consecutive shutout innings before the Razorback offense broke the game open with an eight-spot in the fifth.
Nine consecutive Arkansas batters reached safely to begin the fifth inning.
After Justin Thomas Jr. (1-for-3, R, RBI) led off the frame with a single, Davalan connected on the go-ahead two-run home run to give the Razorbacks a 3-2 lead.
Davalan’s blast knocked Ole Miss starter Riley Maddox, who was tagged for three runs on four hit and two walks in four innings, out of the game.
Rebel right-hander Will McCausland entered in relief, and the Razorback offense went to work.
Wehiwa Aloy homered to dead center before Kuhio Aloy, his younger brother, hit his team-leading eighth home run to left field, extending Arkansas’ advantage to 5-2.
The Hogs were just getting started, however, as Iredale was then hit by a pitch before consecutive singles by Logan Maxwell (3-for-5, 2 R, HR, RBI) and Rocco Peppi (1-for-4, R, RBI) as well as an RBI double by Cam Kozeal (3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI) pushed the lead to 7-2 before an out was recorded in the inning.
Ole Miss right fielder Mitchell Sanford dropped a routine fly ball off the bat of Ryder Helfrick, allowing Peppi to score, and Thomas Jr.’s sacrifice fly in his second at-bat of the inning scored Kozeal from third base as Arkansas went up, 9-2.
The lengthy eight-run frame concluded Gaeckle’s day, and he turned the ball over to Parker Coil.
The left-hander, who earned his first win of the season, twirled two innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts in relief before giving way to righty Aiden Jimenez, who struck out a career high-tying six over three shutout innings to earn his first save of the year.
Ahead 9-3 in the top half of the ninth, Arkansas tacked on three more runs for good measure. Maxwell led off the inning with his fourth home run of the season before Nolan Souza drilled a solo shot to right in his lone at-bat of the game.
Davalan’s third and final RBI of the night came on a two-out, two-strike single that beat the shift through the left side and sealed the Razorbacks’ commanding 12-3 win to even the SEC Opening Weekend series at a game apiece.
His four-hit performance raised his season slash line to .352/.465/.592 with five home runs and 18 RBI through 19 games.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
