That morning coffee must have tasted sweeter this morning after Arkansas advances to the Sweet 16 on Saturday. Tommy’s in Hawaii, Softball & Baseball trending up, Clay Henry joins!
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 3-24-25
Big inning late lifts Razorbacks to best 25-game start to season in history
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A seven-run eighth inning, highlighted by Brent Iredale’s grand slam, powered No. 3 Arkansas (23-2, 5-1 SEC) to an 11-4 series-sweeping win against South Carolina (17-8, 1-5 SEC) Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
With the win, the Hogs completed their first SEC weekend series sweep of the season and improved to 23-2 overall on the year, their best 25-game start to a season in program history.
Arkansas, which has not dropped an SEC home opening weekend series since 2015, has earned sweeps in eight of its nine consecutive SEC home opening series wins.
Led by two-hit performances from Charles Davalan (2-for-4, HR, RBI), Logan Maxwell (2-for-3), Ryder Helfrick (2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI) and Justin Thomas Jr. (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI), all nine Razorback starters recorded at least one hit in Sunday’s thrashing of the Gamecocks. Iredale, who racked up a game-high five RBI, was one of three Hogs with multiple RBI.
Arkansas starter Landon Beidelschies, making his second career SEC start, turned in five innings of two-run ball with three strikeouts.
South Carolina went up 2-0 with leadoff homers in both the top of the first and second to grab an early advantage, but Beidelschies settled down with three scoreless frames to allow the Razorback offense to hit its stride.
Helfrick’s first of two solo home runs on the day came in the bottom of the second and cut Arkansas’ deficit to one before Davalan hit his second homer in as many days in the third on an opposite-field solo shot to even the game at two.
The Razorbacks took their first lead of the afternoon in the fifth, scoring a pair of runs on Iredale’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly to right and Kozeal’s RBI fielder’s choice to open a 4-2 advantage.
After South Carolina punched back with two runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at four, Arkansas delivered the knockout blow with an seven-spot in the eighth.
After Nolan Souza drew a leadoff walk to start the inning, Thomas Jr. jacked a go-ahead two-run homer, his third blast of the season, to put the Razorbacks ahead, 6-4. Arkansas, however, did not stop at two runs.
When Davalan singled and Wehiwa Aloy walked, South Carolina opted to intentionally walk Kuhio Aloy, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI Sunday, to load the bases with one out for Iredale.
The Razorback third baseman hammered the first pitch he saw for a grand slam to break the game wide open by providing Arkansas with a comfortable 10-4 lead.
With his five-RBI performance, Iredale took over the team lead in RBI with 41. The Sydney, Australia, native, who is in his first season at Arkansas after two years at New Mexio JC, is now slashing .356/.527/.808 in 25 games on the year.
Helfrick added his second homer of the day later in the inning to extend the Hogs’ advantage to 11-4. The seven-run edge was more than enough for Arkansas’ bullpen to work with to secure the series-sweeping win.
In relief of Beidelschies, Ben Bybee (1.0 IP), Parker Coil (2.0 IP, 1 SO), who earned his second win of the season, and Carson Wiggins (1.0 IP, 2 SO) each combined to throw four scoreless innings and close out Sunday’s victory.
Up next, Arkansas will conclude its six-game homestand against Missouri State at 6 p.m. Tuesday on SEC Network+ before hitting the road next weekend at Vanderbilt.
Information from Arkansas Sports is included in this story.
Razorbacks start fast, then cruise to series-clinching win over Gamecocks
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 3 Arkansas (22-1, 4-1 SEC) used an eight-run first to cruise to a 12-3 win over South Carolina (17-7, 1-4 SEC) Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium and clinch its 11th consecutive SEC home weekend series.
With the win, the Razorbacks, who have secured each of their first two SEC weekend series this year, improved to 22-2 overall, marking their best 24-game start to a season since 1982 (22-1-1).
Arkansas, which has not lost an SEC home opening weekend series since 2015, also clinched its ninth consecutive SEC home opening series with Saturday’s win.
The Hogs batted around in the bottom half of the first inning, bringing 14 batters to the plate in the frame and scoring eight runs – all with two outs — on five hits, three hit batsmen, two walks and one error.
Brent Iredale’s 421-foot three-run blast, his eighth of the year, put Arkansas up, 3-0, before five more runs came across to score, including a pair on Wehiwa Aloy’s two-run double, and extend the first-inning advantage to a jaw-dropping eight.
Logan Maxwell and Kuhio Aloy, who finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, each reached base twice in the eight-run inning.
With his two-hit, two-RBI effort, Kuhio Aloy raised his team-leading slash line to .420/.510/.815 with a team-high 37 RBI.
In addition to Kuhio Aloy, Wehiwa Aloy (2-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Cam Kozeal (2-for-4) and Ryder Helfrick (3-for-5) also tallied multi-hit performances in Saturday’s series-clinching win.
Five Razorbacks, led by Iredale’s game-high three RBI, drove in multiple runs, including Charles Davalan (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) and Justin Thomas Jr. (1-for-3, 2 RBI), during the ballgame.
Despite the early run support, Razorback starter Gabe Gaeckle only lasted 1.2 innings Saturday afternoon, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks before giving way to the bullpen.
In relief, right-handers Aiden Jimenez (4.1 IP, 4 SO) and Will McEntire (1 SV, 3.0 IP, 1 SO) combined for 7.1 shutout innings with five strikeouts to secure the series win.
Ahead by five in the third, Davalan cranked a 2-1 pitch to left for his sixth homer of the season to put Arkansas up, 10-3.
The Razorback outfielder is one of three Hogs currently hitting over .400, slashing .404/.495/.628 in 24 games this year.
Kuhio Aloy’s RBI single in the fifth, and Thomas Jr.’s RBI sacrifice fly in the sixth grew the Hogs’ lead to 12-3, which would hold up until the final out.
Arkansas has scored 12 runs in each of its last four SEC games — all four of which it has won.
With a win in tomorrow’s finale, the Razorbacks can clinch their first SEC weekend series sweep of the year and their fourth weekend series sweep of the season as well as improve to 23-2 overall, which would mark their best 25-game start in program history. First pitch between Arkansas and South Carolina is scheduled for 2 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Calipari guides Razorbacks back to Sweet 16 with 75-66 win
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — John Calipari is heading to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time, guiding the Arkansas Razorbacks past nemesis Rick Pitino and second-seeded St. John’s, 75-66, on Saturday to bring his fourth school to the NCAA tournament’s second week.
Billy Richmond III scored 16 points and Karter Knox had 15 for the 10th-seeded Razorbacks, who sent Kansas and their Hall of Fame coach Bill Self home from the “Region of Coaches” in the first round.
But the victory over his longtime rival was especially sweet for Calipari.
Zuby Ejiofor had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Big East champion St. John’s (31-5) – an unprecedented sixth school Pitino has taken to the tournament. His history in Providence – the Friars reached the 1987 Final Four in his tenure – gave him a home-court advantage.
But in a poor-shooting foulfest, Arkansas (22-13) barely did enough to eliminate St. John’s – making the Red Storm the first team seeded No. 4 or higher to exit what’s been a chalky tournament so far.
The teams combined to make four 3-pointers on 41 attempts, with St. John’s shooting 28% from the floor overall. After cutting an eight-point lead with eight minutes left to two, 62-60, the Red Storm missed their last seven 3-point attempts.
Wehiwa’s walk-off homer closes door on Hogs’ run-rule win over Gamecocks
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Wehiwa Aloy’s walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh punctuated No. 3 Arkansas’ 12-2 run-rule win against South Carolina (17-6, 1-3 SEC) in the SEC home opener Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.
With the win, the Razorbacks improved to 21-2 overall, marking their best 23-game start to a season since the 1982 campaign (21-1-1), and 3-1 in SEC play.
Friday night’s lopsided win, which was the Hogs’ ninth by run rule this season, also represented Arkansas’ 500th SEC victory since joining the conference ahead of the 1992 campaign.
Zach Root, making his second Friday start and second SEC start, was dealing against South Carolina, turning in Arkansas’ first seven-inning complete game since Kacey Murphy did so against Florida on May 27, 2017, in the SEC Tournament.
The junior left-hander struck out seven over seven innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits and issuing one walk.
The Razorback offense provided Root with more than enough run support, tagging Gamecock starter Brandon Stone for five runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks in three innings.
South Carolina relief pitcher Matthew Becker did not fare any better against the relentless Arkansas lineup, giving up five runs on eight hits and a walk in 3.1 innings.
Arkansas scored a run in the second, tacked on four in the third and two more in the fourth before putting the game away with a five-spot in the seventh.
Five Razorbacks, led by Charles Davalan’s four-hit night, recorded multiple hits in Friday’s offensive onslaught, and three Hogs, led by Aloy’s three-RBI performance, logged multiple RBI games in the win.
Justin Thomas Jr., who finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, opened the scoring with a two-out RBI single in the second.
Bases-loaded walks to Brent Iredale and Ryder Helfrick in the third moved Arkansas’ advantage to 3-0 before a two-out error by South Carolina shortstop Henry Kaczmar brought home a pair of runs and extended the lead to five.
A two-run homer by Logan Maxwell, who finished the ballgame 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI, in the fourth inning gave Root and the Hogs a commanding seven-run lead to work with.
The Razorback outfielder has hit a career-high six home runs this season, surpassing his career total of five in 110 games at TCU from 2022-24.
South Carolina broke through with runs against Root in the fifth and sixth inning to cut its deficit to 7-2, but the Arkansas southpaw, who logged his second quality start of the season, did not surrender.
The Razorbacks carried a five-run lead into the bottom half the seventh, setting the table for their five-run frame and their ninth run-rule win of the season.
Thomas Jr.’s RBI double scored Cam Kozeal, who went 2-for-4 with a double, to extend Arkansas’ lead to six before Davalan’s fourth hit of the night brought home Helfrick and made it a 9-2 game.
Aloy stepped up to the plate with two on and one out, hammering a 3-1 pitch over the wall in right to finish off the Razorbacks’ 12-2 victory in seven innings.
Aloy’s two-hit, three-RBI day moved his season slash line to .402/.495/.837 with a team-leading 10 home runs and 31 RBI in 23 games.
Davalan, meanwhile, raised his season slash line to .411/.500/.611 in 23 games with his four-hit effort.
The series continues tomorrow afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium with first pitch in game two between the Hogs and Gamecocks scheduled for 2 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Arkansas, which has not lost an SEC home opening weekend series since 2015, can clinch its ninth consecutive SEC home opening series with a win tomorrow or in Sunday’s series finale.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Ruscin & Zach March 21
We have thoughts on the new Arkansas coach and the Razorbacks win over Kansas and the matchup with St. John’s in Providence. Plus, our Crain Team Bums of the Week.
WATCH: Calipari, Knox, Brazile previewing game against St. John’s
Complete press conference from Providence with Arkansas coach John Calipari along with players Karter Knox and Trevin Brazile.
With former pitcher James Teague sidelined, Robert fills in on Hogs’ baseball
Fans will be busy at Saturday’s game with Razorbacks facing St. John’s in NCAA Tournament, baseball against Gamecocks.
Radio analyst Bubba Carpenter on Razorbacks’ big win in midweek game
Not many games with explosion Hogs had in win over Oral Roberts ahead of South Carolina series this weekend.
Eastside Liquor Halftime Podcast 3-21-25
Hogs beat Kansas!
Guests: Aaron Torres, Robert Teague and Neal Atkinson
