Arkansas

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

Published

12 months 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.

Source link

Click to comment

Arkansas

Gymbacks Place Seventh at NCAA Championships, Four Earn All-America Honors

Published

7 hours ago

April 17, 2026

Press Room

Gymbacks Place Seventh at NCAA Championships, Four Earn All-America Honors

The No. 9 Gymbacks saw their season come to an end on Thursday night as they placed fourth in the NCAA Gymnastics Championships evening semifinal and seventh overall with a score of 196.9625.

Arkansas finished behind No. 1 Oklahoma (198.300), No. 13 Minnesota (197.4625) and No. 4 UCLA (197.275) in its session, with the Sooners and Golden Gophers advancing to Saturday’s national championship. In the afternoon session, No. 3 Florida (197.7875) and No. 2 LSU (197.4375) advanced, while No. 6 Georgia placed sixth overall (197.2625) and No. 7 Stanford placed eighth (196.9375).

The Gymbacks’ team score of 196.9625 is the second highest in program history at NCAAs for Arkansas, and highest since 2009. The team got out to a strong start on floor, in which the Razorbacks scored 49.300, a new NCAA championships record for Arkansas on the event.

The day was highlighted by a great all-around performance by senior Morgan Price. She scored 39.4625, which was good for fifth in the session and tied for ninth overall, good for Second Team All-America honors. She also tied for eighth on vault (9.900) and fifth on bars (9.9125) to bring her All-America total to three, the most by a Gymback at a single nationals since Kennedy Hambrick in 2021.

Fifth year Leah Smith sent her Arkansas career out with a bang as she notched a pair of 9.900s on vault and bars, both of which tied for the session for All-America nods. Smith is now a three-time All-American with two on vault.

Freshman Allison Cucci had a fantastic first NCAA Championships with Arkansas’ highest individual score of the day, 9.9375 on vault. She tied for fourth in the session to earn First Team All-America honors and tied for sixth overall. Her score is the third highest ever by a Gymback on vault at NCAAs, and the best for Arkansas since 2014.

Sophomore Joscelyn Roberson closed out her second season with her first All-American honor on floor. She scored 9.9125 and placed eighth in the evening semifinal. Roberson has now earned two All-America nods in as many seasons at Arkansas.

Floor

After an uncharacteristic start from Hailey Klein on floor, Smith got the Gymbacks on track again in the two spot with a 9.8375. The Price duo of Morgan and Frankie earned matching 9.825 marks back-to-back, and Lauren Williams broke through for the first 9.900 of the night for Arkansas in the fifth spot. Roberson anchored the Gymbacks with a 9.9125, which brought the floor total to 49.300.

Vault

After a 9.7875 from Cami Weaver in the lead-off position, Smith stuck her Yurchenko full up second and earned a 9.900. The sticks were contagious as Cucci delivered one of her own midway through the lineup on her Yurchenko 1.5 for a 9.9375. Klein and Williams scored 9.8125 and 9.825, respectively. Morgan Price finished the rotation with a 9.900, and Arkansas posted 49.375 on vault.

Bars

Roberson led off with a 9.7875 for Arkansas, and the scores built from there with a 9.800 from Klein and a 9.900 for Smith to pace the Gymbacks halfway through the rotation. The freshman duo of Avalon Campbell and Cucci scored 9.800 and 9.775 next, which brought up Morgan Price to anchor. She put down her typical solid routine on the event and went 9.9125. The Gymbacks’ total on bars was 49.200.

Beam

Arkansas went to one of its best events of the season for the last rotation, beam. Priscilla Park kicked it off with a 9.8125, followed by a 9.7875 by Klein up second. Weaver and Cucci then scored 9.750 and 9.775. Morgan Price and Joscelyn Roberson both posted good scores of 9.825 and 9.8875, but neither were enough to move Arkansas into a spot to contend for a national finals berth.

More Information

Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Gymnastics. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Gymnastics) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackGym).

Source link

Arkansas

Arkansas Community Foundation commemorates 50 years with summit

Published

19 hours ago

April 16, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas Community Foundation commemorates 50 years with summit

KATV ABC 7 in Little Rock, Arkansas covers news, sports, weather and the local community in the city and the surrounding area, including Hot Springs, Conway, Pine Bluff, Jacksonville, Sherwood, Stuttgart, Benton, Bauxite, East End, Scott, Pinnacle, Maumelle, Gibson, Landmark and Hensley.

Source link

Arkansas

Pulaski Tech’s Diamond Chef event brings big flavors and friendly competition

Published

1 day ago

April 16, 2026

Press Room

Pulaski Tech’s Diamond Chef event brings big flavors and friendly competition

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — If you like great food and a little friendly competition, Diamond Chef Arkansas is about to serve up both at the University of Arkansas- Pulaski Technical College.

Diamond Chef Arkansas is a fundraiser for UA Pulaski Tech’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute.

The event centers on a head-to-head cooking competition where students team up with local chef mentors to collaborate on dishes and practice together ahead of the big night.

Along with the competition, attendees can also sample tastings from local restaurants, giving people a chance to try a variety of foods while cheering on their favorite team.

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

Among the chefs involved this year are Scott Rains, Alyssa Frisby, and Reis Bertram, including a team from Table 28.

Source link