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.
