No. 4 Arkansas (6-1) stopped Michigan’s (4-3) late comeback attempt on Sunday afternoon to secure an 8-6 victory and end the weekend on a high note in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Razorbacks experienced shades of last year’s win over the Wolverines in the 2024 Kubota College Baseball Series when it came to the final out.
Michigan struck first early in the top of the first inning when DH Cade Ladehoff scored from second base on a fielding error by SS Wehiwa Aloy off the bat of 2B Mitch Voit with one out. RHP Gage Wood got Arkansas out of the inning by striking out the next two batters.
The Hogs struck back with three giant innings to take a 7-1 lead. Arkansas loaded up the bases in the bottom half of the first with one out on a double by Aloy, a walk by DH Logan Maxwell and 3B Brent Iredale getting hit by a pitch. 1B Camden Kozeal reached on a fielding error at first that allowed Aloy to score, and RF Kendall Diggs plated Maxwell by reaching on a fielder’s choice to give the Razorbacks a 2-1 advantage.
Arkansas loaded up the bases again in the bottom of the second on a double by LF Charles Davalan and back-to-back walks by Aloy and Maxwell with two outs. Iredale drove in a run on a single to the left side, and Aloy scored from second on a throwing error by SS Benny Casillas.
Wood exited the game in the top of the third after seemingly getting hurt while throwing warmup pitches in between innings. He went two frames while allowing an unearned run and two hits while striking out six batters on 39 pitches (29 strikes). Wood was relieved by RHP Dylan Carter, who went on to toss two shutout innings and pick up the win.
The Hogs loaded the bases for the third consecutive time in the bottom of the third on a double by Diggs, a walk by 2B Nolan Souza and CF Justin Thomas Jr. getting hit by a pitch with one out. Davalan roped a two-run double to right center field, and Aloy followed up with an RBI single through the right side to give Arkansas a six-run advantage.
Aloy continued to swing a hot bat by hitting a solo shot down the right field line in the bottom of the fifth for his third home run of the season. He finished the day going a perfect 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and a walk.
Michigan finally responded in the top of the sixth with back-to-back solo home runs by 3B Cole Caruso and LF Robert Hamchuk to lead off the inning and cut the lead to five, 8-3. The Wolverines picked up another run in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by RF Jonathan Kim to plate Hamchuck.
Michigan refused to go away in the top of the ninth. After LHP Parker Coil registered the first two outs of the inning, pinch hitter Noah Miller doubled down the left field line, and Caruso reached on a fielding error at short to put runners on the corners. Hamchuk drove in both runners with a long two-run single to center to cut the deficit to two. After Max Debiec reached on a pinch-hit single to put runners on first and second, Coil was relieved by RHP Tate McGuire.
During McGuire’s battle with pinch hitter Will Rogers, both runners advanced on a passed ball off of C Zane Becker to put runners in scoring position. McGuire kept his nerves in check and forced Rogers to ground out to second to end the game.
The Razorbacks will head back home to Baum-Walker Stadium to play Grambling on Tuesday, and then for a three-game weekend series against the Portland Pilots. First pitch for Friday’s series opener is at 3 p.m., and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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