Arkansas

Three takeaways as Arkansas baseball loses home weekend series to Texas A&M

Published

1 year ago

April 19, 2025

Three takeaways as Arkansas baseball loses home weekend series to Texas A&M

FAYETTEVILLE — A historic start to the Arkansas baseball season is now facing its first meaningful adversity.

The No. 2 Razorbacks (34-7, 13-5 SEC) dropped two of three games this weekend to Texas A&M as the Aggies (23-16, 8-10) handed Arkansas a second straight series loss. It’s also the first time since 2022 the Hogs have lost a weekend series at home.

Arkansas now sits three losses behind No. 1 Texas in the SEC standings, and there’s no respite in future weeks with upcoming series against the Longhorns, LSU and defending national champion Tennessee.

Here are three observations from the Hogs’ series loss to Texas A&M.

Not enough production from bottom of Arkansas baseball’s lineup

Justin Thomas Jr. had a nice series from the 9-hole with two home runs and four hits, but he was the lone Hog near the end of the order to play well against the Aggies.

The 5-8 hitters in the Arkansas lineup combined to go 6-for-44 across the three games. Players like Cam Kozeal and Ryder Helfrick cooled off, and the Razorbacks got nothing from their right side of the infield. They miss Nolan Souza, who is likely out for the season with a shoulder injury.

“It’s just been a little bit of here-and-there. We just need to get a few more guys rolling and we can put up some bigger innings,” Van Horn said.

The two bright spots for the offense were Wehiwa Aloy and Charles Davalan. Aloy was a dominant force at the plate this weekend, going 7-for-14 with two homers, five runs and four RBIs. He hit a 448-foot bomb to left field in game two that had an exit velocity of 113 mph.

Aloy now has 16 home runs on the season, which lead the Razorbacks and are two more than he hit all of last year. Davalan was 6-for-14 with four runs, and he got unlucky with multiple hard-hit balls going right at Texas A&M defenders.

Bullpen hits first speed pump

Arkansas and Texas A&M were tied 1-1 entering the fifth inning of a decisive rubber match Saturday night. With starting pitcher Landon Beidelschies on five days rest and a pitch count, Van Horn pulled the lefty and went to his bullpen ace, Aiden Jimenez.

A supposed advantage for Arkansas ended up swinging the series toward the Aggies. Jimenez allowed a two-run homer to Jace LaViolette, his fourth of the series, and the Arkansas relievers yielded eight runs across the final five innings. Freshmen Cole Gibler and Carson Wiggins struggled after a brief weather delay.

On the other side, Texas A&M won the series because of the efforts of two relievers. Weston Moss and Luke Jackson didn’t give up a run in 8⅔ scoreless innings during games one and three.

“They pitched better than us,” Van Horn said. “That’s why they won two out of three.”

Is Gabe Gaeckle back?

Gabe Gaeckle lost his spot in the starting rotation this weekend to Gage Wood, but Wood only recorded one out and allowed three earned runs in his return from a shoulder injury during game two.

Gaeckle came out of the bullpen later in the game and seemingly rediscovered his electric form from last season when he was the Hogs’ closer. Gaeckle pitched the final 5⅔ innings of a series-evening 11-5 victory. He struck out eight batters and gave up one run in his arguably his best performance of the season.

Arkansas needed that type of outing after its first two starters — Wood and Zach Root — combined to allow nine runs. Root only lasted four innings Thursday night.

Up Next

Arkansas hosts Little Rock for a two-game series in midweek action beginning Monday before hitting the road next weekend to face Florida.

Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@gannett.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Arkansas

No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks’ Historic Season Comes to an End at WCWS

Published

10 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks’ Historic Season Comes to an End at WCWS

Hunter Corneliusen
May 30, 2026

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – No. 5 National Seed Arkansas Razorbacks’ historic season came to an end on Friday night with an 11-0 (5 inn.) loss to UCLA at the Women’s College World Series inside Devon Park.

With the loss, Arkansas finished its season with a 47-13 record that culminated in the program’s first Women’s College World Series berth. The Hogs’ 47 wins were the second-most in program history, trailing only the 2022 team’s 48-11 overall record.

Tianna Bell, Atalyia Rijo, and Kailey Wyckoff all recorded base hits for Arkansas in the loss. Wyckoff and Karlie Davison both drew walks. Payton Burnham (14-4) took the loss for Arkansas after allowing four runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of work.

Taylor Tinsley (33-7) took the win for UCLA, pitching five shutout innings while striking out two and allowing three hits and two walks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Payton Burnham made her 19th start of the season for Arkansas, while UCLA went with senior Taylor Tinsley.

In the top of the first inning, Atalyia Rijo had a hand in all three outs of a 1-2-3 frame that featured a pair of groundouts and a popout. Tinsley responded with a 1-2-3 inning herself, courtesy of a strikeout, flyout, and lineout in the home half of the first inning.

Aleena Garcia gave UCLA a 1-0 lead with a lead-off solo home run to dead center field in the top of the second inning. Kaniya Bragg got hit by a pitch, and Alexis Ramirez singled before Soo-Jin Berry made it a 4-0 game with a three-run home run to left field. Following Ramirez’s homer, Saylor Timmerman entered in relief for Arkansas. Megan Grant later extended the Bruins’ lead to 7-0 by way of a three-run home run to center field, her 42nd of the season. Senior LHP Robyn Herron entered with two runners on and two outs in the inning. UCLA extended its lead to 9-0 courtesy of a two-RBI double off the top of the wall in right field by Bragg.

In the bottom of the second inning, Karlie Davison became the first baserunner of the game for Arkansas after reaching on a two-out walk. She later advanced to second base on a single from Atalyia Rijo. Kailey Wyckoff later walked to load the bases, but UCLA would escape with a flyout to get out of the inning.

In the top of the third inning, Herron registered a pair of strikeouts while UCLA made it 10-0 by scoring a run by way of a wild pitch. Tinsley retired the Hogs in order in the bottom of the third inning.

Herron retired UCLA in order in the top of the fourth inning while picking up a pair of strikeouts. Tianna Bell singled down the third-base line to lead off the bottom of the fourth.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Bruins’ Jolyna Lamar increased the UCLA lead to 11-0 with a solo home run to right field.

Kailey Wyckoff singled down the third-base line to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning before UCLA retired three consecutive batters to end the game.

NOTABLES

Arkansas finished the season with a 47-13 overall record. The Razorbacks’ 47 wins were the second-most in program history, trailing only the 2022 team’s 48-11 overall record.

Up Next

The Razorbacks will be back in action in the spring of 2027.

For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.

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Arkansas

Arkansas men’s track and field sends 21 entries to NCAA Outdoor Championships | Whole Hog Sports

Published

20 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas men’s track and field sends 21 entries to NCAA Outdoor Championships | Whole Hog Sports

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Arkansas

What channel is UCLA vs Arkansas softball on? Time, TV for WCWS elimination game

Published

1 day ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

What channel is UCLA vs Arkansas softball on? Time, TV for WCWS elimination game

It’s win or go home for half of the Women’s College World Series field on Friday, May 29.

In the nightcap of the WCWS elimination games is No. 8 UCLA vs. No. 5 Arkansas, two teams that suffered come-from-behind wins on May 28 by Alabama and Nebraska, respectively. The Bruins couldn’t take advantage of back-to-back home runs against Jocelyn Briski in the third, eventually falling 6-3 to the top-seeded Crimson Tide.

Watch UCLA vs Arkansas softball live with Fubo (free trial)

The Razorbacks’ loss was arguably more painful (or, at least, took longer). Arkansas twice led against Nebraska and USA Softball Player of the Year Jordy Frahm, but was unable to maintain either lead before Ava Kuszak walked the Razorbacks off in the bottom of the 10th inning in the 5-3 defeat.

Now the Bruins and Razorbacks both must gear up for a second game in as many days, with their WCWS hopes on the line. Here’s how to watch as UCLA takes on Arkansas in a pivotal win-or-go-home game:

What TV channel is UCLA vs Arkansas softball on today?

ESPN will broadcast Friday’s elimination game between UCLA and Arkansas. Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Stream WCWS games live with Fubo (free trial)