The No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks (32-4, 12-2 SEC) couldn't quite climb out of an early hole against the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs (31-6, 9-5 SEC) in a 7-6 nailbiting loss Saturday night at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia.
Sophomore right-handed starter Gabe Gaeckle's early-inning struggles resurfaced against the Bulldogs. Through two innings, the former bullpen ace allowed six hits and five earned runs while he also struck out two batters and walked one.
The early-inning deficit proved insurmountable for Arkansas' offense, which mustered six runs on 11 hits but was 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position. It seemed like almost every time the Razorbacks clawed back, Georgia matched with runs of its own.
Junior right Ben Bybee was mostly excellent out of the bullpen, as he made it through 3.1 innings with only two earned runs and five strikeouts. Flamethrower Christian Foutch replaced Bybee and seemingly made a return to form with five strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work. Freshman lefty Cole Gibler also struck out three batters in his lone inning pitched.
Leadoff batter Charles Davalan extended his weekend hitless streak with a groundout to start the game. Wehiwa Aloy broke up the no-hitter with an 0-2 single to left field, but after reaching second base on a wild pitch, he was stranded on the base paths after Georgia starter Kolten Smith picked up two straight strikeouts on Logan Maxwell and Brent Iredale.
Gaeckle began his outing with a strikeout looking, but that's where the positives ended. A walk, three singles and a passed ball allowed three Bulldogs to come around and score. Gaeckle finally escaped with a flyout after throwing 37 pitches.
With two outs in the top of the second, Ryder Helfrick sent a solo bast — his sixth of the season — over the left-field wall to draw Arkansas within two runs, 3-1. Freshman Gabe Fraser singled in the next at-bat, but former Bulldog Justin Thomas Jr. ended the frame with a swing and a miss.
Georgia responded to Arkansas' solo shot with a longball of its own in the bottom of the second. After Gaeckle retired the first two batters he faced, he allowed a single and the aforementioned homerun to push the Bulldogs' lead to 5-1.
Davalan earned his first hit of the series, a laced double to center field, to leadoff the top of the third. A balk call moved him to third base, which proved valuable as he scored on a Maxwell RBI groundout to make it 5-2, Georgia.
Right-hander Ben Bybee relieved Gaeckle to start the bottom of the third. He faced one of the SEC's best hitters in Ryland Zaborowski, who led off the frame with a solo homerun to center field. Bybee set down the next three Bulldogs with a strikeout and two groundouts.
A Cam Kozeal walk and Fraser bunt single in the top of the fourth gave the Hogs a chance to climb back in the game, but pinch-hitter Carson Boles (who replaced Justin Thomas Jr.) struck out looking to end the threat.
Now settled into the game, Bybee retired the side with ease in the bottom of the fourth with two punchouts. After an uneventful fifth for Arkansas' offense, Bybee faced some trouble in the fifth.
After a leadoff flyout for the Bulldogs, they put two men in scoring position thanks to a single and double. If Arkansas had any chance at coming back in the game, it needed to escape the jam without allowing a run, and Bybee accomplished that with two straight strikeouts to close the inning.
Georgia elected to change to righty Davis Chastain out of the bullpen to start the sixth, which backfired. Kozeal and Kuhio Aloy doubled and singled, respectively, to give Arkansas runners on the corners with no outs. Bulldogs' right-hander DJ Radtke entered the game, and he proceeded to strike out the red-hot Helfrick.
Fraser drove in a run with an RBI groundout, but that was all she wrote for Arkansas' offense in the sixth.
The bottom of the sixth was Bybee's last frame, as after a leadoff groundout, he allowed a single and an RBI-double to give Georgia a 7-3 lead. Right-hander Christian Foutch replaced him, and he escaped a two-RISP jam with two strikeouts.
Foutch was dominant in the bottom of the seventh, as he struck out all three batters he faced, including the white-hot Zaborowski.
Iredale flied out to start the eighth, but Kozeal smacked a double down the right-field line and then Kuhio Aloy smoked a bomb to right field to bring Arkansas within two runs, 7-5. After a Helfrick groundout, Fraser walked and Boles singled to bring up Davalan with two outs. In the pressure situation, Georgia turned to lefty Charlie Goldstein out of the bullpen, and he barely escaped with a lineout from Davalan.
Freshman lefty Cole Gibler took the mound for Arkansas in the bottom of the eighth, where he started off with his traditional three-pitch strikeout. He did allow a one-out single, but fought back with two straight swings and misses.
Down two runs and with only three outs remaining, Wehiwa Aloy started the top of the ninth off with a full-count walk. Maxwell smoked a single past first base to give the Hogs runners on the corners with no outs.
Right-hander Matthew Hoskins came into the game to close the door on Arkansas, and after tossing a wild pitch to make it 7-6 Hogs and walking Kuhio Aloy, he got Helfrick on a check-swing strike to end the late comeback effort.
Up next, Arkansas and Georgia will meet again Sunday at Foley Field in Athens for Game 3 of the series. First pitch for Sunday's matchup is set for noon CT and it will stream on SEC Network+.
