The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (33-7, 12-5 SEC) have now lost two straight weekend series, as the Texas A&M Aggies (23-15, 8-9 SEC) won the rubber match, 9-2, in Game 3 on Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas brought the game within one run after six innings, but a lightning delay before the seventh inning seemed to throw things off. The Aggies plated three runs in the top of the seventh inning and three more in the top of the ninth to make it an unenjoyable watch for Hog fans down the stretch.
Left-handed starting pitcher Landon Beidelschies gave up just one earned run — a solo homer — on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts across four innings to begin the game. Righty Aiden Jimenez was starting to settle in before the delay, but he didn’t return afterwards and things got rough.
Four different Razorbacks had at least two hits in the game, including shortstop Wehiwa Aloy and catcher Ryder Helfrick, both of whom had doubles. The Hogs had nine hits compared to 11 by Texas A&M. Four of the Aggies’ hits came with runners in scoring position and five were extra base hits, including two home runs from centerfielder Jace LaViolette.
LaViolette drove his third homer in as many games to the scoreboard in right-center field in the top of the first inning. Beidelschies didn’t allow anything else in the frame, while the Hogs were unable to capitalize on a one out single from Wehiwa Aloy in the bottom half.
After Beidelschies faced one more than the minimum in the top of the second, the Razorbacks threatened in the bottom half with a one out single from Brent Iredale and two out walk from Helfrick. Aggies’ starter Myles Patton stranded the runners, though, with his fifth strikeout of the game to that point.
Beidelschies worked the game’s first 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third. Charles Davalan led the bottom of the third inning off with a single and he was then advanced to third base on a single from Logan Maxwell before Kuhio Aloy tied the game with an RBI sacrifice fly out that tied the game at 1-1 after three innings. The Hogs managed to get Patton’s pitch count up to 69 pitches by the point.
The Hogs picked up a pair of quick outs in the top of the fourth inning, but then Beidelschies issued back-to-back two out walks. It took a dart of a throw from Davalan to Helfrick at the plate to get the third out and keep the game tied after and Aggies’ challenged prompted a review that confirmed the out.
Arkansas turned to right-hander Aiden Jimenez in the top of the fifth inning, when he gave up a two out single followed by a two-run homer from LaViolette — his fourth of the weekend — that gave Texas A&M a 3-1 lead.
Davalan singled to leadoff the bottom of the fifth and he went to third via a double from Wehiwa Aloy. Davalan came home to score on an RBI sacrifice fly from Maxwell to cut the deficit to 3-2. Texas A&M then turned to right-hander Luke Jackson in relief of Patton, and Jackson retired two straight to leave Aloy on the bases.
After Arkansas went down in order in the bottom of the sixth inning, the game went into a lightning delay around 8:35 p.m. CT. When began roughly 30 minutes later, freshman Cole Gibler was on the mound for the Hogs and he instantly gave up a solo homer to Aggies’ second baseman Ben Royo. After giving up a double right after, Gibler was replaced by fellow freshman Carson Wiggins.
Texas A&M added its fifth run courtesy of an RBI sacrifice fly out and then it scored a sixth on an RBI single from Bear Harrison with bases loaded. Luke Jackson remained the pitcher for the Aggies in the bottom half and he went three up, three down.
Hogs’ reliever Christian Foutch came on in the top of the eighth and retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts with rain coming down. Kuhio Aloy reached on an error and Brent Iredale hit a two out single to give Arkansas a pair of runners in the bottom half, but Jackson stranded them by striking out Hogs’ freshman Gabe Fraser.
Arkansas turned to lefty Colin Fisher in the top of the ninth after Foutch put a pair of one out runners on base. Both of those runners scored courtesy of a double from Caden Sorell that made it 8-2. The Hogs then turned to right-hander Will McEntire, who gave up an RBI single to make the deficit seven runs before finally getting out of the frame.
Helfrick singled to leadoff the bottom of the ninth and chase Jackson to bring in Aggies’ lefty Kaiden Wilson, who picked up the final three outs with little drama to end the contest.
Up next, Arkansas will host in-state for Little Rock on Tuesday and Wednesday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. First pitch Tuesday against the Trojans is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will stream on SEC Network+.
Box Score
The No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (33-7, 12-5 SEC) have now lost two straight weekend series, as the Texas A&M Aggies (23-15, 8-9 SEC) won the rubber match, 9-2, in Game 3 on Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas brought the game within one run after six innings, but a lightning delay before the seventh inning seemed to throw things off. The Aggies plated three runs in the top of the seventh inning and three more in the top of the ninth to make it an unenjoyable watch for Hog fans down the stretch.
Left-handed starting pitcher Landon Beidelschies gave up just one earned run — a solo homer — on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts across four innings to begin the game. Righty Aiden Jimenez was starting to settle in before the delay, but he didn’t return afterwards and things got rough.
Four different Razorbacks had at least two hits in the game, including shortstop Wehiwa Aloy and catcher Ryder Helfrick, both of whom had doubles. The Hogs had nine hits compared to 11 by Texas A&M. Four of the Aggies’ hits came with runners in scoring position and five were extra base hits, including two home runs from centerfielder Jace LaViolette.
LaViolette drove his third homer in as many games to the scoreboard in right-center field in the top of the first inning. Beidelschies didn’t allow anything else in the frame, while the Hogs were unable to capitalize on a one out single from Wehiwa Aloy in the bottom half.
After Beidelschies faced one more than the minimum in the top of the second, the Razorbacks threatened in the bottom half with a one out single from Brent Iredale and two out walk from Helfrick. Aggies’ starter Myles Patton stranded the runners, though, with his fifth strikeout of the game to that point.
Beidelschies worked the game’s first 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third. Charles Davalan led the bottom of the third inning off with a single and he was then advanced to third base on a single from Logan Maxwell before Kuhio Aloy tied the game with an RBI sacrifice fly out that tied the game at 1-1 after three innings. The Hogs managed to get Patton’s pitch count up to 69 pitches by the point.
The Hogs picked up a pair of quick outs in the top of the fourth inning, but then Beidelschies issued back-to-back two out walks. It took a dart of a throw from Davalan to Helfrick at the plate to get the third out and keep the game tied after and Aggies’ challenged prompted a review that confirmed the out.
Arkansas turned to right-hander Aiden Jimenez in the top of the fifth inning, when he gave up a two out single followed by a two-run homer from LaViolette — his fourth of the weekend — that gave Texas A&M a 3-1 lead.
Davalan singled to leadoff the bottom of the fifth and he went to third via a double from Wehiwa Aloy. Davalan came home to score on an RBI sacrifice fly from Maxwell to cut the deficit to 3-2. Texas A&M then turned to right-hander Luke Jackson in relief of Patton, and Jackson retired two straight to leave Aloy on the bases.
After Arkansas went down in order in the bottom of the sixth inning, the game went into a lightning delay around 8:35 p.m. CT. When began roughly 30 minutes later, freshman Cole Gibler was on the mound for the Hogs and he instantly gave up a solo homer to Aggies’ second baseman Ben Royo. After giving up a double right after, Gibler was replaced by fellow freshman Carson Wiggins.
Texas A&M added its fifth run courtesy of an RBI sacrifice fly out and then it scored a sixth on an RBI single from Bear Harrison with bases loaded. Luke Jackson remained the pitcher for the Aggies in the bottom half and he went three up, three down.
Hogs’ reliever Christian Foutch came on in the top of the eighth and retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts with rain coming down. Kuhio Aloy reached on an error and Brent Iredale hit a two out single to give Arkansas a pair of runners in the bottom half, but Jackson stranded them by striking out Hogs’ freshman Gabe Fraser.
Arkansas turned to lefty Colin Fisher in the top of the ninth after Foutch put a pair of one out runners on base. Both of those runners scored courtesy of a double from Caden Sorell that made it 8-2. The Hogs then turned to right-hander Will McEntire, who gave up an RBI single to make the deficit seven runs before finally getting out of the frame.
Helfrick singled to leadoff the bottom of the ninth and chase Jackson to bring in Aggies’ lefty Kaiden Wilson, who picked up the final three outs with little drama to end the contest.
Up next, Arkansas will host in-state for Little Rock on Tuesday and Wednesday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. First pitch Tuesday against the Trojans is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will stream on SEC Network+.
