ARLINGTON, Texas — The No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1) experienced their first defeat of the season, falling 3-2 to the Kansas State Wildcats (2-4) at Globe Life Field. This matchup marked the beginning of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, and for Arkansas fans, it was reminiscent of last year's regional elimination by the same Wildcats.
Kansas State took control early, scoring first with Dee Kennedy's RBI single, which capitalized on Arkansas starter Gabe Gaeckle's lack of control. Gaeckle struggled throughout the night, walking four batters and only managing two strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
Despite Gaeckle’s ups and downs, the Razorbacks finally ignited their offense thanks to the Aloy brothers. Wehiwa Aloy led off the bottom of the sixth with a home run to right field, pulling Arkansas within one run. Moments later, Kuhio Aloy followed suit, blasting another homer to tie the game at 2-2.
It didn't take long for Kansas State to respond, though. They regained the lead the very next inning when Micah Dean doubled, scoring David Bishop and putting the Wildcats back on top.
Throughout the game, Arkansas struggled at the plate, finishing with just one hit with runners on base out of 14 opportunities. The Razorbacks' only two runs came from the solo homers, with the rest of the sequence seeing them stranded time and time again. They struck out 11 times against the combined pitching efforts of Kansas State, who saw Jacob Frost set a career-high with six strikeouts before handing over the game to Blake Dean.
Kansas State's pitching staff was stellar, limiting Arkansas to merely 7 hits across the game. Frost finished the game with 5.2 innings pitched, allowing two runs and punching out six Razorbacks, showcasing his ability to keep the formidable Arkansas offense at bay.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn expressed disappointment after the game, particularly concerning base-running mistakes, especially when Charles Davalan was thrown out trying to advance to third on Wehiwa Aloy's single, which ended the seventh inning.
Moving forward, the Razorbacks will need to regroup quickly as they prepare to face the No. 23 TCU Horned Frogs Saturday night, and Coach Van Horn emphasized the need to build off this experience.
Saturday’s game against TCU is set for 6 p.m. CT, and it will be streamed live on FloBaseball. Meanwhile, Arkansas fans are hoping to rally their team back to scoring form and shake off the disappointment of their first loss.