ARLINGTON, Texas — Wehiwa Aloy came a triple short of the cycle in a four-hit performance, powering No. 5 Arkansas (6-1) past Michigan (4-3), 8-6, in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series finale at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
With Sunday’s win, the Razorbacks finished the weekend at Globe Life Field with a 2-1 record, their fourth winning record in as many trips to the home of the Texas Rangers. Sunday’s win also moved Arkansas’ overall record to 6-1 through the first seven games of the year, its best seven-game start to a season since 2021 when the Hogs began 7-0.
Aloy reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances Sunday, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. The Razorback shortstop recorded two singles, a double, a solo homer and a walk during his big day at the plate.
He started out with a double to left field in the bottom of the first, coming around to score later in the inning as Arkansas jumped ahead, 2-1, after falling behind by a run in the top half of the first. After drawing a walk in the second, Aloy’s next big swing came in the third inning as he collected his first of two singles and drove home a run in the process.
In the fifth, Aloy socked a two-out solo shot down the line in right, hammering a 2-1 pitch off the foul pole to put Arkansas up, 8-1. He rounded out his four-hit game with a two-out single in the seventh, raising his season slash line to a team-best .417/.563/.833 with three homers, tied for the team lead with his younger brother Kuhio, and seven RBI.
While Aloy set the tone offensively, Arkansas starter Gage Wood was dominant through his first two innings of the ballgame. The right-hander recorded all six outs via strikeout, allowing an unearned run on a fielding error in the first.
Wood, however, departed the game as he warmed up on the mound in the top of the third after experiencing shoulder soreness. In relief, righty Dylan Carter fired two shutout frames with a strikeout to earn his second win of the season.
Left-handers Cole Gibler (1.0 IP, 3 SO) and Colin Fisher (1.0 IP, 2 SO) also emerged from the bullpen and combined for two scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Michigan threatened with a pair of runs in the sixth before adding one in the eighth and scoring two more in the ninth, but relievers Parker Coil (1.2 IP, 1 SO) and Tate McGuire (0.1 IP) held strong.
McGuire stepped onto the mound with two outs in the ninth and retired the game’s final batter on a groundout to Nolan Souza, stranding runners at second and third to preserve Arkansas’ 8-6 win and earn his first career save.
Along with Aloy, Charles Davalan also turned in a multi-hit game as well as a multi-RBI performance in the Razorbacks’ win over the Wolverines. The Hogs’ starting left fielder went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double and a pair of RBI.
Up next, Arkansas returns inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium for a season-long 10-game homestand beginning with Grambling (4-3). First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, on SEC Network+.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
