Photo courtesy of University of Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Kuhio Aloy swatted his team-leading fourth homer and collected a game-high three RBI to power No. 4 Arkansas (9-1) to an 8-5 series-clinching win against Charlotte (4-5) Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas clinched its 31st straight non-conference home weekend series with the win. The Hogs have not lost or tied a non-conference weekend series in Fayetteville since 2014, when Arkansas lost two-of-three games to South Alabama.
The Razorbacks will now go for their second weekend series sweep of the season tomorrow after beginning the year with an Opening Weekend series sweep against Washington State. With a sweep of Charlotte, Arkansas would improve to 10-1 or better through the first 11 games of the campaign for the ninth time in the Dave Van Horn era.
Arkansas starter Zach Root turned in 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball and racked up eight strikeouts on the mound, moving his season ERA to 2.93 over a team-high 15 1/3 innings on the year. Charlotte touched Root for a pair of runs in the top half of the inning before the left-hander settled down to work his way into the sixth inning.
Facing a two-run deficit, the Razorbacks answered with a run in the bottom of the second and took the lead with two more runs in the third. Aloy’s 114 mph RBI double in the second brought home Arkansas’ first run, while Logan Maxwell’s second home run in as many days put the Hogs ahead, 3-2, entering the top half of the fourth inning.
Charlotte retook the lead on a two-run homer in the top of the sixth, but Arkansas punched back immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Nolan Souza’s fielder’s choice scored a run to tie the game at five before Ryder Helfrick’s perfectly executed suicide squeeze bunt brought home Aloy from third, putting the Razorbacks back in front by a run.
The 49ers would not go away, however, tying the ballgame up again in the top of the seventh on a two-out RBI single. Aiden Jimenez, who earned the win after tossing a season-long two shutout frames with a season-high four strikeouts in relief, extinguished Charlotte’s threat to keep the game knotted at five apiece headed into the bottom of the seventh.
Brent Iredale’s RBI double down the right field line broke the deadlock and put Arkansas ahead, 6-5, but it was Aloy’s two-run blast that sealed the win. The Razorback designated hitter mashed a 412-foot homer off the batter’s eye in straightaway center, capping his 2-for-3 day at the plate and raising his team-leading slash line to .565/.655/1.304.
True freshman Carson Wiggins worked the top of the ninth and spun a perfect inning with two strikeouts to secure his second save of the year. The flame-throwing right-hander only needed 13 pitches to lock down the series-clinching win.
First pitch in Sunday’s series finale between Arkansas and Charlotte is scheduled for noon on SEC Network+ with Josh Haley (play-by-play) and Troy Eklund (analyst) on the call. The Razorbacks are a perfect 7-0 at home this season.
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