No. 4 Arkansas (8-1) escaped a trap game against Charlotte (4-4) by out-slugging the 49ers, 11-10, on Friday evening in Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorback bats came through with a giant 10-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning to avoid the upset and remain undefeated at home.
A slugfest vs Charlotte
Bumpy start
Arkansas did not have an ideal start to the game as RHP Gabe Gaeckle gave up five runs to Charlotte in the top of the first inning. 2B Chandler Riley began the game with a single and moved up to second base on a passed ball and to third on a groundout. C Logan Poteet plated Riley on a double to right field to give the 49ers an early 1-0 lead and would go on to move to third base on a wild pitch.
After Gaeckle struck out the next batter he faced for the second out, RF Noah Furcht hit a two-run home run to left field to put Charlotte up by three. DH Thad Ector drew a walk to keep the inning alive, and CF Carson Bayne cashed him in with a double to left field. SS Connor Maryniak capped off the five-run rally with an RBI single to center. Gaeckle struck out LF Blake Martin to end the frame.
The Hogs scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the third on a solo shot by LF Charles Davalan for his first home run of the season to cut the lead to four, but the celebration was short-lived.
The 49ers put together another huge rally in the top of the fourth, with Maryniak getting on with a triple to lead off the frame. Martin drove in Maryniak on a bunt single to put Charlotte back up by five, 6-1. Riley singled up the middle and advanced to second base on the throw to put runners in scoring position with nobody out. 3B Dawson Bryce knocked in both runners on a two-run single to center field to force head coach Dave Van Horn to go to the bullpen and relieve Gackle while down 8-1.
Gaeckle went three innings while allowing nine runs, 10 hits and a walk on 66 pitches (46 strikes) while striking out three batters. His ERA for the year jumped from 1.69 to 7.24 in 13.2 innings of work.
RHP Dylan Carter was inserted on the bump and allowed a double to Poteet and hit 1B Cody Gunderson with a pitch to load the bases. After Bryce was thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Ector, Bayne singled to right field to drive in Poteet to extend Charlotte’s lead to eight, 9-1. Carter struck out Maryniak looking to end the inning.
10-point rally in the fourth
Arkansas came to life in the bottom half of the fourth with a much-needed 10-run rally to flip the script. RF Logan Maxwell led off with a solo home run to cut the deficit to seven. 3B Brent Iredale and DH Kuhio Aloy worked back-to-back walks to continue the inning. RHP Mike Szturma was relieved by LHP Chase Carson after allowing the two walks. 1B Camden Kozeal singled to left field to load up the bases, but C Ryder Helfrick struck out swinging for the first out.
Van Horn made the decision to have Rocco Peppi pinch hit for 2B Nolan Souza, who had registered just one at bat so far in the game. The decision paid off as Peppi drove in a pair on a double down the left field line and CF Justin Thomas Jr. followed up with an RBI single up the middle to score Kozeal to cut the lead to four, 9-5. RHP Joel Sarver was placed on the mound for Carson after facing just two batters.
Davalan drove in Peppi from third on an RBI groundout to first base for the second out of the inning while Thomas advanced to second base. Wehiwa Aloy worked his way on with a walk, and Maxwell came through with an RBI single to left field to put Arkansas within two, 9-7. Iredale was hit by a pitch to load up the bases.
Kuhio Aloy dug in and laced a bases-clearing double to right center to put the Razorbacks in front to an ecstatic crowd reaction. He scored on an RBI single by Kozeal to cap off the electric inning to give Arkansas an 11-9 lead. Helfrick singled, and Peppi was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Thomas grounded into a force out to end the 10-run rally.
The 49ers were able to get a run back in the top of the sixth on a leadoff solo homer by Gunderson to left field off of LHP Colin Fisher. Ector later doubled down the left field line with one out in the inning and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Bayne hit a grounder to the left side, and Iredale threw out Ector at home for the second out to protect the one-run lead. Bayne then tried to steal second later in the inning but was thrown out by Helfrick to run Charlotte out of the frame.
All was quiet until the top of the ninth when RHP Christian Foutch came out of the pen to close the game. He forced Furcht to fly out but hit back-to-back batters with a pitch to place the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Foutch struck out Maryniak swinging for the second out and got pinch hitter Juan Rivera to ground out to first base to end the contest while picking up his second save of the year.
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+.