The No. 3 Arkansas baseball team (19-2, 2-1 SEC) defeated Oral Roberts (12-7, 1-2 Summit League) in a 4-1 midweek bout Tuesday evening at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
Both teams combined for 15 total hits, eight of which came from the Razorbacks. Charles Davalan poured in three singles, a walk and an RBI, while Wehiwa and Kuhio Aloy each had two hits.
Arkansas finished 8-for-28 at the plate, 6-for-17 with runners on, 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-3 with the bases loaded.
Hogs' starting pitcher Ben Bybee was excellent in four innings, as he struck out five batters and only allowed one hits on 55 pitches. That outing lowered his season ERA to 3.38.
Bybee's day started strong on the mound, as he struck out three-of-four batters he faced with one hit allowed in the top of the first. The Razorbacks loaded the bases their first time up to bat behind two singles and a walk, but that was all she wrote against Oral Roberts right-hander Brenden Asher.
After picking up two more punchouts in the second, Arkansas' offense finally clicked things into gear. Carson Boles led off with a walk, but he was erased off the base paths on a Nolan Souza fielder's choice. Zane Becker worked a great at-bat that ended with a hard-hit single, and Charles Davalan put the Hogs up 1-0 with an RBI hit to left field.
The third inning went as fast as it came, primarily because of Bybee's early at-bat success. That continued in the fourth, as he recorded his first two outs on only three pitches. His next adversary took the count to full, but Bybee drew a fly out for his second straight 1-2-3 frame.
Bybee was relieved in the fifth for freshman lefty Cole Gibler, who gave up three straight singles to allow Oral Roberts to tie the game, 1-1. Gibler bounced back with a strikeout, groundout and flyout to escape the jam.
Oral Roberts also changed pitchers in the fifth, and it backfired quickly. Davalan led off with his second single of the game, Wehiwa Aloy walked and Kuhio Aloy gave Arkansas the lead with a hit to left field. After a Maxwell catcher's interference play, Iredale smoked a ball to right field, but it was caught on a great sliding play and resulted in a sac-fly run. A double play ended the inning with the Razorbacks up 3-1.
Trust worthy junior Arkansas left-hander Parker Coil took the mound in the seventh for the Hogs, but he allowed a leadoff single to get the Eagles going. That didn't matter much, as Coil drew back-to-back first-pitch outs to end the frame.
Arkansas loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but a close play at second on Souza's fielder's choice groundout ended the inning, after review. That upped the Hogs' stranded-on-base total to 10 in the game.
The Eagles made a run of things against Coil in the eighth, which included a two-on, one-out situation, but the southpaw punched back with a drawn flyout and a strikeout to close the door on the comeback.
Becker walked to start the eighth and Davalan picked up hit No. 3 to jumpstart the offense. The bases were loaded following a Wehiwa Aloy single and the Hogs increased their lead to 4-1 on a Kuhio Aloy RBI double-play groundout.
Wild righty closer Christian Foutch looked to return to form in the ninth, and he started well with a strikeout and flyout before issuing a four-pitch walk. The game ended on a first-pitch foulout.
Up next, Arkansas will face Oral Roberts in Game 2 of their midweek set Wednesday at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
