ARLINGTON, Texas — The No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks (5-1, 0-0 SEC) earned a 2-1 victory over the No. 22 TCU Horned Frogs (5-1, 0-0 Big 12) on Saturday night at Globe Life Field thanks to a clutch seventh inning pinch-hit knock from BYU transfer Kuhio Aloy.
Arkansas struggled for six innings against TCU starter Tommy LaPour, who issued back-to-back walks to start the top of the seventh inning. Shortly after LaPour was relieved, the Hogs sent Aloy to the plate for a pinch hit at bat against a new arm, and he smacked a 110 mile per hour two-run double to left field to give the Razorbacks a 2-1 lead over the Horned Frogs.
Left-hander Zach Root gave the Razorbacks five innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts and just two runs in his second start with the team. Relievers Landon Beidelschies and Christian Foutch combined for four scoreless innings after Root.
Both teams combined for just seven hits (three by the Hogs) in the game and they combined to go 1-19 at the plate with runners on base (Arkansas was 1-8). Aloy's big hit was the only hit in the game with runners in scoring position.
Both starting pitchers posted scoreless frames with a pair of punchouts each in the first inning. The Razorbacks stranded right fielder Kendall Diggs at second base in the top of the second inning after the senior slugger hit a 107 mile per hour two-out single to left field and then stole a base. Root worked around a one-out single in the bottom half to keep the game scoreless after two innings.
After a scoreless third inning by both squads and a six-pitch top of the fourth inning by LaPour, the Horned Frogs finally got to Root in the bottom half of the fourth.
The left-hander issued a leadoff walk followed by a single before gaining a strikeout. With the next batter down 0-2 in the count, Root plunked him to load the bases for TCU's Sam Myers, who picked up an RBI and reach via an error by freshman second baseman Gabe Fraser, who was making his first career start for Arkansas. Root then did it himself and struck out the next two batters to leave the bases loaded and keep the deficit at 1-0.
LaPour put together his third 1-2-3 frame of the game by that point in the top of the fifth inning for the Horned Frogs, and Root followed suit with a pair of three-pitch strikeouts (his 9th and 10th of the game) and a one-pitch fly out to close a six-pitch bottom half of the fifth inning for the Razorbacks.
The Hogs again went down in order in the top of the sixth. Pitching coach Matt Hobbs turned to Beidelschies in relief of Root in the bottom of the sixth. Beidelschies, a lefty transfer from Ohio State, went three up, three down and benefitted from a home run robbery by left fielder Charles Davalan for the third out.
Arkansas drew back-to-back walks to chase LaPour from the game at the start of the top of the seventh inning. Following a sacrifice bunt and second pitching change, the pinch hitting Kuhio Aloy — who hit a 420+ foot Friday against Kansas State — crushed a 110 mile per hour RBI double to left field that scored both runners to give the Razorbacks a 2-1 lead.
Beidelschies worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh for his second scoreless frame in a row, while the Razorbacks couldn't capitalize on shortstop Wehiwa Aloy drawing a two-out hit by pitch in the top of the eighth.
TCU led the bottom of the eighth off with a single, but then the Hogs gained two outs on an impressive 3-6-3 double play by Vanderbilt transfer Cam Kozeal, who made his first start of the year at first base.
Arkansas turned to Foutch, a junior right-hander, with two outs and he forced a fly out to end the frame. After the Hogs went scoreless in the top of the ninth, Foutch returned to pitch in the bottom half.
TCU freshman Nate Franco singled to left field to leadoff the bottom of the ninth, but Foutch quickly saw it erased via a double play by Nolan Souza at second base. Foutch then issued back-to-back walks and Hobbs made a visit to the mound with runners on the corners. Foutch then responded with his only strikeout of the game to get the save.
Up next, the Razorbacks will play the Michigan Wolverines (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten) at Globe Life Field in Arlington for their final contest in the College Baseball Series. First pitch against the Wolverines is set for 11 a.m. CT and the game will stream on FloSports.
Box Score
Coming soon.
