FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It will be hard for Arkansas to top an 11-10 win over Charlotte on Friday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Considering Razorbacks’ starter Gabe Gaeckle blew up in the first inning, giving up five runs, it will be nerve-wracking to fans if gets any wilder.
Hogs’ coach Dave Van Horn let Gaeckle at least try to finish things, but it didn’t get worse. The right-hander lasted three innings, but couldn’t get anybody out in the fourth. Gaeckle ended up allowing nine earned runs, his second straight outing stuggling. He did that last Saturday against TCU in Arlington.
The eight-run deficit was the Razorbacks’ largest to overcome since a 13-10 win at Louisiana Tech on March 1, 2017, when Arkansas came all the way back from a nine-run deficit after trailing 10-1 in the fourth inning of the game.
Charlotte landed the game’s first punch with a five-run first before tacking on four more in the top of the fourth, tagging Arkansas starter Gabe Gaeckle for nine runs on 10 hits in three innings. Charles Davalan’s two-out solo shot, his first of the year, put Arkansas on the board in the third, but the Hogs faced a 9-1 deficit entering the bottom of the fourth.
The Razorbacks brought 16 batters to the plate in the frame, breaking out for 10 runs on eight hits, including five singles, two doubles and a home run, three walks and two hit batsmen. Logan Maxwell’s leadoff homer, his first of the year, began the 10-run rally before Rocco Peppi’s pinch-hit two-run double kept the pressure on, cutting the deficit to 9-4.
Justin Thomas Jr. followed with an RBI single, and Davalan collected his second RBI of the game right after as Arkansas’ closed its gap to three runs. After Maxwell’s two-out RBI single cut the deficit to two, and Brent Iredale was hit by a pitch, Kuhio Aloy, the Razorbacks’ leading hitter, stepped up to the plate and delivered the go-ahead three-run double.
Aloy, who finished the game 2-for-4 with a double and a team-leading three RBI, improved his season slash line to a team-best .550/.640/1.200 with a team-high four doubles and 12 runs batted in over six games. Maxwell, meanwhile, had two run-scoring hits in the fourth inning alone, raising his season slash line to .273/.393/.409 in the process.
Cam Kozeal, who also collected a pair of hits in the fourth inning, drove in the 10th and final run of Arkansas’ 10-run rally, singling up the middle and scoring Aloy from third to extend the lead to 11-9. From there, the Razorback bullpen took control of the game and combined for six innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts to keep the 49ers at bay.
Dylan Carter (1.0 IP, 2 SO), who earned his third win of the season, was the first to enter in relief of Gaeckle. Colin Fisher (2.0 IP, 1 R, 3 SO), Parker Coil (2.0 IP, 3 SO) and Christian Foutch (1.0 IP, 1 SO, 1 SV) followed suit, working together to silence the Charlotte offense over the game’s final five frames and seal Arkansas’ wild 11-10 come-from-behind win.
Coil maintained his perfect 0.00 ERA with his two innings of scoreless relief work. The left-hander has not allowed an earned run in 6.1 innings over a team-leading five appearances on the mound and racked up five strikeouts this season.
Arkansas and Charlotte go back to battle again Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. on SEC Network+. With a win, the Razorbacks can clinch their 31st consecutive non-conference home weekend series.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
