Hogs Run-Rule Cocks; Root Twirls Seven-Inning Complete Game
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Wehiwa Aloy’s walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh punctuated No. 3 Arkansas’ 12-2 run-rule win against South Carolina (17-6, 1-3 SEC) in the SEC home opener Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.
With the win, the Razorbacks improved to 21-2 overall, marking their best 23-game start to a season since the 1982 campaign (21-1-1), and 3-1 in SEC play. Friday night’s lopsided win, which was the Hogs’ ninth by run rule this season, also represented Arkansas’ 500th SEC victory since joining the conference ahead of the 1992 campaign.
Zach Root, making his second Friday start and second SEC start, was dealing against South Carolina, turning in Arkansas’ first seven-inning complete game since Kacey Murphy did so against Florida on May 27, 2017, in the SEC Tournament. The junior left-hander struck out seven over seven innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits and issuing one walk.
The Razorback offense provided Root with more than enough run support, tagging Gamecock starter Brandon Stone for five runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks in three innings. South Carolina relief pitcher Matthew Becker did not fare any better against the relentless Arkansas lineup, giving up five runs on eight hits and a walk in 3.1 innings.
Arkansas scored a run in the second, tacked on four in the third and two more in the fourth before putting the game away with a five-spot in the seventh. Five Razorbacks, led by Charles Davalan’s four-hit night, recorded multiple hits in Friday’s offensive onslaught, and three Hogs, led by Aloy’s three-RBI performance, logged multiple RBI games in the win.
Justin Thomas Jr., who finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, opened the scoring with a two-out RBI single in the second. Bases-loaded walks to Brent Iredale and Ryder Helfrick in the third moved Arkansas’ advantage to 3-0 before a two-out error by South Carolina shortstop Henry Kaczmar brought home a pair of runs and extended the lead to five.
A two-run homer by Logan Maxwell, who finished the ballgame 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI, in the fourth inning gave Root and the Hogs a commanding seven-run lead to work with. The Razorback outfielder has hit a career-high six home runs this season, surpassing his career total of five in 110 games at TCU from 2022-24.
South Carolina broke through with runs against Root in the fifth and sixth inning to cut its deficit to 7-2, but the Arkansas southpaw, who logged his second quality start of the season, did not surrender. The Razorbacks carried a five-run lead into the bottom half the seventh, setting the table for their five-run frame and their ninth run-rule win of the season.
Thomas Jr.’s RBI double scored Cam Kozeal, who went 2-for-4 with a double, to extend Arkansas’ lead to six before Davalan’s fourth hit of the night brought home Helfrick and made it a 9-2 game. Aloy stepped up to the plate with two on and one out, hammering a 3-1 pitch over the wall in right to finish off the Razorbacks’ 12-2 victory in seven innings.
Aloy’s two-hit, three-RBI day moved his season slash line to .402/.495/.837 with a team-leading 10 home runs and 31 RBI in 23 games. Davalan, meanwhile, raised his season slash line to .411/.500/.611 in 23 games with his four-hit effort.
The series continues tomorrow afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium with first pitch in game two between the Hogs and Gamecocks scheduled for 2 p.m. on SEC Network+. Arkansas, which has not lost an SEC home opening weekend series since 2015, can clinch its ninth consecutive SEC home opening series with a win tomorrow or in Sunday’s series finale.
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