Guests: Alyssa Orange (PigTrail Nation) and Bill King (Nashville Sports Radio)
Democrat-Gazette’s Tom Murphy on baseball’s opening series
Big play by Wehiwa Aloy made big difference in first game, Dave Van Horn pushed right buttons in four-game sweep.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 2-18-25
Another winter storm passes through the Natural State! Razorback Baseball starts hot at 4-0. CFP and NCAA Tournament expansion on the horizon.
Guests: Bruce Stanton and Tom Murphy!
Ruscin & Zach February 17
Arkansas loses against Texas A&M but Ruscin is not concerned about it. The gang briefly compares things they do not like and we talk about coaches being executives as well.
Hogs close out clean sweep of Cougars in another run-rule win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Landon Beidelschies turned in five innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts in his Razorback debut, leading No. 5 Arkansas (4-0) to a 12-2 run-rule win against Washington State (0-4) Monday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
With the win, the Hogs completed their Opening Weekend four-game series sweep of the Cougars.
Monday’s win also marked the Razorbacks’ 700th victory in the 30-year history of Baum-Walker Stadium, where Arkansas maintains an all-time record of 700-243 (.742).
Since the 2015 campaign, the Hogs have won 30 consecutive non-conference home weekend series inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium, with their last non-conference home weekend series loss coming at the hands of South Alabama during the 2014 season.
Beidelschies, the Ohio State transfer, was sharp in his first start on the mound, giving Arkansas five strong innings to earn his first win of the year.
After exchanging zeroes with the Cougars through the game’s first three frames, the Razorbacks posted a five-spot in the bottom of the fourth before tacking on six more runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Kuhio Aloy’s solo shot, his second home run of the season, opened the scoring in the fourth inning.
Arkansas capitalized on a Washington State defensive miscue to keep the pressure mounting, and Wehiwa Aloy (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB), brother of Kuhio (1-for-3, HR, RBI, 2 BB), took full advantage later in the inning with a two-run single to extend the lead to 5-0.
While the Cougars answered back with a run in the top half of the fifth, the Razorbacks did not let up. Carson Boles (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI), making his first start of the season, doubled in a pair of runs before Justin Thomas Jr. (1-for-1, 3 R, RBI, 3 BB), Charles Davalan (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and Brent Iredale (1-for-4, 2 RBI) each contributed RBI singles of their own.
In relief of Beidelschies, Ben Bybee (1.0 IP, 1 R) and true freshman Cole Gibler (1.0 IP, 1 SO) worked the game’s final two frames.
Washington State added a second run in the top of the sixth, but Arkansas pushed its lead back to 10 in the bottom half of the inning when Iredale was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to reinitiate the run rule.
Gibler locked down the top of the seventh, recording his first collegiate strikeout in his first collegiate appearance to seal Arkansas’ opening weekend series sweep against Washington State.
Since Dave Van Horn’s first season as head coach, the Razorbacks have swept 12 of their Opening Weekend series, doing so for the first time in Fayetteville since 2020.
Up next, Arkansas heads to the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series presented by Kubota on Feb. 21-23 in Arlington, Texas, at Globe Life Field.
The Hogs open tournament play against Kansas State at 7 p.m. Friday on FloCollege.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 2-17-25
Recapping an action-packed weekend in sports, Canadian disrespect, NBA All-Star weekend, Arkansas Baseball takes care of business, and more!
Guests: Clay Henry!
Hog Reaction: Arkansas falls 69-61 at Texas A&M
Presented by Buffington Homes, The Stadium Shoppe on Razorback and Sawyer’s Sunrooms!
Iredale’s bat, Wood’s pitching lifts Hogs to win over Cougars
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Powered by Brent Iredale’s two-homer day, No. 5 Arkansas (3-0) mashed its way to a 5-2 win and an Opening Weekend series win against Washington State (0-3) Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
With the win, the Razorbacks have now clinched 30 consecutive non-conference home weekend series in a streak dating back to 2015.
The Hogs have not lost or tied a non-conference regular season weekend series at Baum-Walker Stadium since 2014, when Arkansas lost two-of-three games to South Alabama in its final non-conference home weekend series.
Iredale continued his hot start to the season, jacking a pair of solo home runs and collecting two more RBI. Through the first three games, the Sydney, Australia, native is slashing a team-best .545/.571/1.182 with two homers and seven RBI.
True freshman Zane Becker, making his collegiate debut, drove in the first run of the game on a two-out double in the bottom half of the second, scoring Kendall Diggs from second and putting the Hogs ahead, 1-0.
The lead would hold until the top of the fourth when Washington State broke through for a pair of runs against Arkansas starter Gage Wood.
It was the only damage Wood would endure all game. The junior right-hander worked five innings of two-run ball with a career-high seven strikeouts in his first outing of the season, putting Arkansas in position to clinch the weekend series.
Iredale led off the bottom of the fourth with his first of two solo home runs, evening the game at two apiece. In his very next at-bat in the sixth, the Razorback third baseman blasted another solo shot into the Hog pen to put Arkansas up, 3-2.
From there, the Arkansas bullpen silenced the Washington State offense. Dylan Carter (1.2 IP, 1 SO), Parker Coil (1.1 IP, 1 SO) and Carson Wiggins (1.0 IP, 1 SO) combined for four shutout innings with three strikeouts in relief.
Wehiwa Aloy connected on his first home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth to give the Razorbacks some more breathing room. The Wailuku, Hawai’i, swatted a two-run homer to right center, extending the lead to three.
Wiggins locked down the bottom of the ninth, securing his first career save in his highly anticipated debut. The true freshman’s first four pitches were each 100 mph, and he ended the ballgame with his first career strikeout.
Following an off-day tomorrow due to forecasted inclement weather, Arkansas vies for an Opening Weekend series sweep against Washington State on Monday. The four-game set concludes with a noon first pitch on ESPN+.
