#8 Arkansas Secures Series Win against #17 Tennessee in Regular Season Finale

Oliver Grigg May 17, 2025

Box Score Presser: DVH Presser: Beidelschies, Helfrick & McEntire

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Ryder Helfrick’s five-RBI performance at the plate and Will McEntire’s 3.2 scoreless innings in relief powered No. 8 Arkansas (43-12, 20-10 SEC) to an 8-4 series-clinching win against No. 17 Tennessee (41-15, 16-14 SEC) Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium, as the Hogs secured their sixth 20-win SEC season in program history.

Arkansas has now reached the 20-win mark in SEC play in three consecutive seasons (2023-25) and has now finished with 20 or more SEC victories in a season six times in program history, including five times under Dave Van Horn.

The Razorbacks, who swatted two more homers in Saturday’s regular season finale, matched their single-season home run record of 109 and secured the No. 2 seed in next weekend’s SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., in the series-clinching win. Arkansas, which earned a bye to the quarterfinal round in the SEC Tournament, will next play the winner of Florida/South Carolina vs. Ole Miss at 3 p.m. Friday, May 23, on SEC Network.

Helfrick’s grand slam, his 10th home run of the season, in the bottom half of the third capped a five-run inning, which gave Arkansas an early 6-2 lead in the series finale. Starter Gage Wood (3.0 IP, 2 R, 7 SO) and Landon Beidelschies (2.1 IP, 2 R, 3 SO) kept the Volunteers in check through six innings, allowing the Hogs to take control of the ballgame.

Wehiwa Aloy’s team-leading 18th home run of the year came in the bottom of the fourth and extended the Razorbacks’ advantage to 7-2. His solo blast was Arkansas’ 109th of the season, tying the single-season program record set in 2021.

An RBI single by Logan Maxwell in the fifth gave the Hogs’ their eighth and final run of the afternoon. The Volunteers responded with a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to close their deficit to 8-4, but McEntire would shut the door.

The veteran Razorback right-hander retired all 11 batters he faced in his 3.2 innings in relief, throwing 29-of-39 pitches for strikes and locking down his second save of the season. McEntire struck out four to raise his career punchout total to 232, which ties him with Kevin Kopps for the seventh-most strikeouts by a Razorback pitcher in program history.

Aloy’s two-hit effort raised his team-best slash line to .358/.440/.677 with 18 homers and 58 RBI on the year. Helfrick, meanwhile, drove in a career-high five runs and became the sixth Razorback with 10 or more homers this season.

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