The No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks (7-1, 0-0 SEC) are preparing for their three-game set against the Charlotte 49ers (4-3, 0-0 AAC) this weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
Led by sixth-year head coach Robert Woodard, the 49ers are coming off a 24-34 (12-15 AAC) overall season in their first year as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Before that, Charlotte was part of Conference USA.
Last weekend, the 49ers split a four-game set against the Old Dominion Monarchs. Charlotte won Game 1, 10-9 (11innings), and Game 4, 8-1. Woodard's club also owns victories over Northeastern and Wofford.
"We were looking at some video of them from their series this past weekend," Van Horn said Tuesday. "They’re starting four right-handers. They have a good closer. They made a nice comeback last Friday. They were losing pretty good and they came back and won that game or I think they woulda got swept. It’s still early and different league and teams have a lot of new players all the time now, so sometimes you gotta dig into some things. And when they get junior college players, you can’t find anything hardly.
"The thing is, I tell our guys if we just do what we can do, the scouting reports are great and they’re going to help you, but if you go play well, you throw strikes and you field, put the bat on the ball, you’ve got a chance to win every game."
Arkansas is coming off a midweek run-rule victory over the Grambling State Tigers and a 2-1 performance at the College Baseball Series in Arlington, Texas. Smoking-hot at the plate is designated hitter Kuhio Aloy, who is batting .563 in 16 at-bats. His emergence has provided a challenge for Van Horn, who is still moving pieces around to figure out Arkansas' best lineup.
"I told our guys that before the (Grambling) game, I said, ‘We need to find out a lot about some guys. We need to get some guys rolling. You guys need to show us what to do a little bit,'" Van Horn said. "You know, my comment to the players in the outfield just a minute ago was that I like the fact that you’re making it hard on me to write up a lineup, because some guys are hitting. There’s guys that didn’t play today that are going to start Friday that didn’t even play today, you know like Diggs probably and a couple other guys. It’s a good thing.
"This next 10 days, or nine games I guess, we’ll mix it up. Obviously we’re going to try to win every game, but we’re going to… We gotta get some guys in there and find out if we need to platoon guys or not, things like that."
The Hogs have faced Charlotte four times before Friday's matchup and are tied in the all-time series, 2-2. The two programs last met in Fayetteville in 2019, a game the Razorbacks won, 9-2.
Here's a closer comparison of Arkansas' and Charlotte's stats, along with projected starters, key players and more ahead of Friday's game, which is set to start at 3 p.m. CT and will stream on SEC Network+.
Statistical comparison
Statistical Comparison| 2025 Stats | Arkansas | Charlotte |
|---|---|---|
| Batting average | .294 | .226 |
| OPS | .941 | .711 |
| Runs per game | 7.5 | 5.3 |
| Home runs | 10 | 6 |
| Stolen bases (success rate) | 7 (64%) | 3 (38%) |
| ERA | 2.28 | 3.74 |
| Opponent batting average | .214 | .226 |
| Fielding percentage | .979 | .989 |
Arkansas Starting Rotation:
Friday: Sophomore RHP Gabe Gaeckle
6'0", 190 pounds / Aptos, California / Aptos HS
2025 stats: 0-0, 1.69 ERA, 2 GP, 10.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 9 K
Saturday: Junior LHP Zach Root
6'2", 210 pounds / Fort Myers, Florida / East Carolina
2025 stats: 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 2 GP, 10.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 18 K
Sunday: Junior LHP Landon Beidelschies
6'3", 230 pounds / Canfield, Ohio / Ohio State
2025 stats: 2-0, 1.17 ERA, 2 GP, 7.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
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Arkansas Projected Starting Lineup:
1. Charles Davalan - LF
2025 stats: .258/.378/.323, 8 GP, 31 AB, 8 H, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K, SB
2. Wehiwa Aloy - SS
2025 stats: .393/.541/.750, 8 GP, 28 AB, 11 H, 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, SB
3. Logan Maxwell - RF
2025 stats: .235/.391/.235, 5 GP, 17 AB, 4 H, 2 RBI, 5 BB, K
4. Brent Iredale - 3B
2025 stats: .400/.568/.720, 8 GP, 25 AB, 10 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 8 BB, 4 K, SB
5. Kuhio Aloy - DH
2025 stats: .563/.650/1.313, 5 GP, 16 AB, 9 H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K
6. Kendall Diggs - 1B
2025 stats: .235/.316/.353, 5 GP, 17 AB, 4 H, 2 2B, RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, SB
7. Ryder Helfrick - C
2025 stats: .250/.407/.550, 8 GP, 31 AB, 8 H, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K, SB
8. Cam Kozeal - 2B
2025 stats: .258/.378/.323, 8 GP, 20 AB, 5 H, 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 8 K
9. Justin Thomas Jr. - CF
2025 stats: .300/.533/.550, 8 GP, 20 AB, 6 H, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 9 BB, 6 K, 2 SB
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Charlotte Projected Starting Rotation:
Friday: Grad Senior RHP Mike Szturma
6'3", 220 pounds / Beacon Falls, Connecticut / Southern Connecticut State
2025 stats: 1-0, 8.59 ERA, 2 GP, 7.1 IP, 12 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Saturday: Junior RHP Blake Gillespie
6'2", 205 pounds / Clermont, Georgia / Georgia
2025 stats: 0-2, 5.91 ERA, 2 GP, 10.2 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 11 K
Sunday: Junior RHP Andrew Kribbs
6'0", 210 pounds / Knoxville, Tennessee / Cleveland State C.C.
2025 stats: 0-0, 2.70 ERA, 2 GP, 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 9 K
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Charlotte Projected Lineup:
1. Chandler Riley - 2B
2025 stats: .273/.467/.318, 7 GP, 22 AB, 6 H, 2B, 5 RBI, 7 BB, 8 K
2. Noah Furcht - RF
2025 stats: .269/.345/.500, 7 GP, 26 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB, 9 K
3. Cody Gunderson - 1B
2025 stats: .304/.500/.435, 7 GP, 23 AB, 7 H, 2B, 3B, 5 RBI, 6 BB, 7 K
4. Dawson Bryce - 3B
2025 stats: .357/.419/.429, 7 GP, 28 AB, 10 H, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K, SB
5. Logan Poteet - C
2025 stats: .267/.313/.500, 7 GP, 30 AB, 8 H, 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 12 K
6. Carson Bayne - CF
2025 stats: .185/.313/.407, 7 GP, 27 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K
7. Connor Maryniak - SS
2025 stats: .125/.333/.208, 7 GP, 24 AB, 3 H, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 7 K
8. Caleb Estes - DH
2025 stats: .214/.313/.286, 5 GP, 14 AB, 3 H, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K
9. Juan Rivera - LF
2025 stats: .167/.310/.208, 7 GP, 24 AB, 4 H, 2B, 4 BB, 3 K, SB
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HawgBeat's Prediction:
Arkansas is still figuring some things out in the field and in the batting order, but the Razorbacks have the upper hand over Charlotte in basically every category.
With some relatively good weather expected in Fayetteville, Gaeckle bounces back from his Arlington, Texas, struggles for a big Friday afternoon victory. Root, Beidelschies and the rest of the pitching staff keep the 49ers in check to the tune of five total allowed runs over the weekend.
Offensively, Arkansas flexes its muscles with plenty of extra-base hits and Nolan Souza gets a much-needed good performance in the Saturday game.
It's smooth sailing for the Diamond Hogs in this series...
Prediction: Arkansas sweeps
