No. 11 Arkansas (39-9, 16-7 SEC) took it to the No. 1 Texas Longhorns (38-7, 19-4 SEC) once again, 6-1, to take the series on Friday night at Baum Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks took advantage of nine walks and five hit batters on offense, while the pitching staff combined for five hits allowed and 15 strikeouts.
Arkansas baseball vs Texas: Game two
Arkansas did the exact same thing it did in Thursday’s game: getting ahead early. 3B Brent Iredale led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo shot to right field on the first pitch he saw for his 12th dinger of the year.
C Ryder Helfrick followed up by getting hit by a pitch and moved over to second base after 1B Rocco Peppi grounded out to third. CF Justin Thomas Jr. was also hit by a pitch by LHP Luke Harrison, and both runners moved into scoring position after LF Charles Davalan grounded out to first. After SS Wehiwa Aloy drew a walk to load the bases, DH Kuhio Aloy cleared the bases with a three-run double to left center to cap off the rally and give the Hogs a 4-0 lead.
Texas put up its first run of the game in the top of the fourth with a leadoff solo shot by C Rylan Galvan to cut the deficit to three. RHP Gage Wood shook off the mistake by striking out the next two batters he faced and forcing SS Jalin Flores to ground out to end the inning.
Wood was solid in four innings of work in his fifth start of the season. He allowed just one run and two hits while carving up a career-high nine batters on 57 pitches (39 strikes). RHP Gabe Gaeckle relieved Wood to start the top of the fifth.
Arkansas built its lead back up to four in the bottom of the fifth. RHP Andre Duplantier II was brought out of the bullpen to begin the inning and forced RF Carson Boles to ground out to third to begin his night. Iredale was hit by a pitch, and Helfrick drew a walk to put some runners on, but 1B Rocco Peppi struck out swinging for the second out of the inning. Thomas drew a walk to load up the bases, and Davalan was hit by a pitch to make Iredale come across and score to give the Razorbacks a 5-1 lead.
The Hogs kept increasing their lead in the bottom of the sixth with two outs, thanks to a walk by Boles, Iredale getting hit by a pitch and Helfrick drawing a walk to load the bases. Reese Robinett, who came into the game as a defensive replacement at first base for Peppi to start the top of the sixth, drove in Boles with an RBI walk to bump up the lead to five.
Texas makes a huge baserunning mistake
With one out in the top of the seventh, CF Will Gasparino reached on an error and 3B Casey Borba drew a walk to put runners on first and second. RF Tommy Farmer IV fouled out near the first baseline, with Helfrick making the catch. Both runners took off on the play, thinking that there were two outs in the inning.
After Helfrick caught the ball for the second out, he noticed the situation and tossed the ball to first to 2B Camden Kozeal to complete the double play. Longhorn head coach Jim Schlossnagle replaced both Gasparino and Farmer with defensive replacements to begin the bottom of the seventh.
JUST LIKE WE DREW IT UP pic.twitter.com/cCw0vEhsSQ
May 3, 2025Gaeckle fired three scoreless innings of relief in his 12th appearance of the season (nine starts) while allowing two hits and a walk with five strikeouts on 61 pitches (41 strikes). RHP Aiden Jimenez relieved Gaeckle to start the top of the eighth and tossed two shutout frames of his own to end the game while surrendering a hit and a walk with a strikeout on 33 pitches (22 strikes).
The Razorbacks and the Longhorns will finish up the series on Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium. The first pitch is slated for 2 p.m., and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.