Though the No. 7 Arkansas Razorbacks were on the wrong end of a series sweep at Georgia over the weekend, Diamond Hogs third baseman Caleb Cali managed to keep his strong month of April going.
A transfer from the College of Central Florida, Cali went 7-for-11 at the plate in Athens, Georgia, and he added seven RBIs, a pair of home runs and a double on the weekend.
After being a standout throughout all of Arkansas' preseason scrimmages, Cali had a sluggish start to his redshirt junior campaign. During opening weekend at the College Baseball Showdown, Cali was 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts and his one plate appearance that didn't result in a strikeout ended up being a double play.
That weekend is long gone for Cali, who has arguably been Arkansas' best hitter in the month of April. He is 19-for-48 with 16 RBIs, five home runs and .396/.455/.750 slash line across 13 games played.
Cali leads the Diamond Hogs in hits, RBIs, batting average (minimum six at bats), slugging, OPS and he's tied for first in home runs with Jace Bohrofen. He is also second to Kendall Diggs in on-base percentage (minimum 22 at bats).
"I mean, I’m not surprised at all, honestly," first baseman Brady Slavens said on April 16. "I mean, it was just a matter of time before he gets going. I mean, I think everybody that was tweeting at him, beginning of the year, talking trash on him, I think they should all owe him an apology on Twitter, honestly. You can put that out there."
After going through a period of time early in the season where he didn't know if his name would be on the lineup card, Cali can be penciled in at third base from now on.
"He knows when he comes to the park right now that he's playing," head coach Dave Van Horn said on April 16. "He can probably relax on that a bit, and that's what happens. That's what we were waiting on is somebody to take that job. That was his at the beginning of the season, and then he got off to a slow start, really offensively and defensively. I think now he's kind of finding it, and he's been a big help."
Not only has Cali been a reliable hitter, but he's come along very nicely as a fielder at the hot corner. His last error came on March 31 against Alabama and he currently sits with a .943 fielding percentage on the year.
"Yeah, defensively it’s huge, ‘cause I mean, he’s made some plays for every single pitcher on the staff, and having him back there gives us confidence that we can get ground balls to him and he’s going to field the ball," right-hander Dylan Carter said on April 16. "I think it just took slowing the game down a little bit and gaining some confidence in himself, and he’s really stepped up."
During Saturday's 9-8 loss to the Bulldogs, Cali was a big reason why Arkansas had a chance to win that game. He went 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of home runs — making him the first Hog with a multi-homer game this year — and five RBIs. His three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning gave Arkansas an 8-4 lead, which seemed to be plenty of insurance at the time.
Unfortunately for Cali and the Hogs, Georgia hit a grand slam off freshman right-hander Ben Bybee to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth and Parks Harber walked it off on the next pitch with a solo shot to center.
While Cali has enjoyed plenty of individual success — which likely feels much sweeter given his start to the season — he is a team player and is only worried about wins. He told HawgBeat's Robert Stewart following Saturday's game that the plan is to flush the loss and move on.
"I think the best way to process it is just forget it," Cali said. "That’s about. It. You forget it, and you move on.”
While Cali's name is now a mainstay in the lineup, injuries have continued to plague the Razorbacks. Van Horn will need Cali's production to continue and others to step up.
"Guys work hard every day," Van Horn said Saturday. "We told them there were going to be times where we were going to have to battle a little bit, and guys are going to have to step it up. They're going to be in the lineup at the blink of an eye, bang. Somebody gets hurt, and next thing you know, you're in the middle of the battle of the big game."
Arkansas (30-10, 11-7 SEC) will travel to Springfield, Missouri, on Tuesday for a midweek matchup with Missouri State. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
