No. 4 Arkansas (8-1) is coming off an exciting 11-10 come-from-behind victory against the Charlotte 49ers (4-4) on Friday evening in Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks are yet to lose a game at home in 2025 and look to keep it that way.
Arkansas fell behind early when Charlotte scored five runs in the first inning and four in the fourth. The Razorbacks were in a huge hole going into the bottom of the fourth, down 9-1. The Hogs mounted an electric 10-spot to carry them to a series-opening victory. Arkansas is going to have to improve on the mistakes that were made that almost made the 49ers pull off the upset.
Here are three keys to the game the Hogs will need going into Saturday’s game against the 49ers.
Arkansas baseball vs Charlotte: 3 keys to victory
Get off to a better start
While the comeback win was exciting, it was definitely a stressful moment when Arkansas fell behind going into the bottom of the fourth inning. RHP Gabe Gaeckle’s five-run first inning was an out-of-the-blue experience, along with the four runs that were given up in the top of the fourth to give Charlotte the commanding lead. It is rare for a team to come back from allowing such big rallies, and the Hogs were fortunate that their offense had the surge that it did.
Coming back from allowing big amounts of runs is not going to be common when going up against Southeastern Conference opponents later in the year. Great teams who have big leads keep those big leads and don’t let up.
Keep the line moving on offense
The Razorbacks did an excellent job in the 10-run fourth inning by consistently sending batters to the plate. Arkansas kept putting runners on base via walks and base hits while putting up runs in almost each at bat. The Hogs also displayed excellent two-out hitting by scoring four runs while down to their final out of the frame.
During the 2024 off-season, Arkansas needed guys who could get on with extra base hits and walks to put runners on and run up a pitcher’s pitch count. The Razorbacks need to keep doing this to make the 49ers go to their bullpen more often and make them burn up their arms.
Continue to hold runners on base
The Arkansas pitching staff did a great job stranding runners on base after retaking the lead. Charlotte left eight runners on base, including stranding the tying and go-ahead run on first and second base in the top of the ninth with one out on Friday. The Razorback arms have been ice cold to begin the year with the likes of LHP Parker Coil and RHP Christian Foutch. The two hurlers will be essential parts of the Hog bullpen, but other relievers like RHP Tate McGuire will be used in this game to leave runners stranded.
The Razorbacks will take on the 49ers on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the second game of the three-game series in Baum-Walker Stadium. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.