The unanimous No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks ran their home win streak up to 22 games on Tuesday night as they defeated the visiting San Jose State Spartans by a final score of 5-1 inside Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Arkansas pitching staff consisted of five pitchers who combined for 10 strikeouts as the offense managed nine hits and put five runs on the board.
Here’s a closer look at Tuesday’s action as the Hogs improve to 28-3 on the season.
Scoring Recap
Top 2 – Arkansas 0, SJSU 1: Matt Spear takes a Ben Bybee fastball for a ride, crushing a 442ft homer over the scoreboard in right.
Bottom 2 – Arkansas 3, SJSU 1: Peyton Stovall singles through the right side to bring home Jayson Jones from second. With Edmunson on third and Stovall at first, Nolan Souza rips a ball 109 mph into the right-center gap, scoring both runners while winding up at second base himself.
Bottom 3 – Arkansas 4, SJSU 1: Ben McLaughlin sends a ball 412 feet into the batter’s eye for a solo home run, his fifth long ball of the season.
Bottom 5 – Arkansas 5, SJSU 1: Wehiwa Aloy goes oppo, sending his team-leading 9th home run off the Player Development Center to put the Hogs up four.
Gorilla of the Game
Wehiwa Aloy: 2-4, 1 HR (9), RBI, Run scored
Coming off a big 5-11 performance this past weekend across three games against Ole Miss, Aloy continued his hot streak with an additional two hits on Tuesday including a 407-foot solo home run and a scorching single that left the bat at 111 mph.
This success at the plate is nothing new for the Sacramento State transfer who hit 14 home runs and drove in 46 last year in his all-American freshman campaign. After an impressive fall, Wehiwa struggled early in the season and seemed as though he was pressing to find the success that would eventually come. Aloy is now second on the team with a .326 batting average in SEC play and leads the team with nine home runs. proving that the bright lights of high-level college baseball are not too bright for the Hawaii native.
Fair to say that the Aloy that we all expected to see has arrived, and may even be exceeding our expectations.
Most Valuable Arm
Ben Bybee: 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 K’s, 0 BB, Win
After missing time early in the season, Ben Bybee got his second start of the season against the Trojans and passed his test with flying colors.
Despite giving up a second-inning solo home run, Bybee cruised through his five-inning start, fanning four batters and walking none. The Kansas City native continues to seem as though he is improving upon his already impressive 2023 freshman outing. Expect to see Bybee getting a couple more midweek starts, and maybe eventually work his way into the weekend bullpen rotation.
Other Notes and Observations
- Defensive notes: Ryder Helfrick threw out a runner for strike-em-out throw-em-out to end the first while fellow freshman Nolan Souza got the start at third base for the first time in his young career, recording two putouts.
- Several unusual starters got their chances at the plate on Tuesday, Hudson Polk, Jayson Jones, and Peyton Holt all got the starting nod. Polk struggled mightily, going 0-4 with 3 K’s while Holt reached base twice with a walk and a base hit. Jayson Jones got another midweek nod, going 1-2 with two walks.
- True freshman Hunter Dietz threw just 8 pitches in the eighth inning before coming out of the game with what Dave Van Horn described as “a soreness”. The highly-touted recruit missed the first month and a half due to a procedure done during fall-ball.
- SEC Freshman of the Week Nolan Souza continues to swing a hot stick. Souza drove in two with his double early on, pushing his RBI count up to 20 on the year, and also drew two walks in the game.
Up Next:
Barring any rainy Fayetteville weather, The No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks will host the Trojans once again for game two of the midweek slate on Wednesday at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed on SECN+.