Gabe Gaeckle picks up second Freshman All-America honor
Following a stellar freshman season as Arkansas' closer, right-handed pitcher Gabe Gaeckle has picked up two Freshman All-America honors from multiple publications.
Perfect Game and the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCWBA) both named Gaeckle to their All-American teams, with Perfect Game making him a first-teamer and the NCBWA giving him second-team honors.
A product of Aptos, California, Gaeckle led the Razorbacks this spring with seven saves — six of which were multi-innings — and he posted a 2.32 ERA with 57 strikeouts compared to just 19 walks in 42.2 innings pitched.
"He comes into the game with a little bit of calmness to him and I think he’s probably calm because he knows how good his stuff is," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said April 19. "He trusts it and he just attacks. They have to figure out how to hit a pitch that’s 96-97 and he dumps a slider in there. He’s got a really good changeup that lefties have a lot of trouble with. He’s confident. He’s good."
Van Horn had that to say about Gaeckle after he tossed 2.2 innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts, one walk and one hit allowed on the road at South Carolina.
Gaeckle's final appearance of his freshman season came in a 17-9 win over Southeast Missouri State to open up Fayetteville Regional play May 31. A 20th round selection by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2023 MLB Draft, Gaeckle struck out six against SEMO and walked three across three innings of one-run ball.
"I think he was doing a good job of changing eye sights," SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers said postgame. "He has that high RPM fastball, a really sharp slider and a slower curveball too. He was able to change speeds and change eye sights. That can make you a little uneven in the box.”
Arkansas communications pointed out that Gaeckle is the fifth Razorback freshman pitcher to total five or more saves in a season since head coach Dave Van Horn's first year at the helm in 2003.
Gaeckle was also named Freshman All-SEC by the league's coaches after he posted a 2-1 record with a 1.59 ERA, 26 strikeouts and three saves in 22.2 innings over 12 appearances. The 6-foot-0, 195-pound righty also has received an invite to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp.