All Hogs

LIVE BLOG: Arkansas vs. Washington State (Game 1)

Hogs battle frigid temps while looking to get off to hot start

Kent Smith

Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Gabe Gaeckle delivers a pitch against Mississippi State on Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Gabe Gaeckle delivers a pitch against Mississippi State on Sunday at Baum-Walker Stadium. / Craven Whitlow-allHOGS Images
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It's a frigid start to the 2025 Razorbacks baseball season as Arkansas hosts Washington State at Baum-Walker Stadium in a Valentine's Day doubleheader. Temps will climb into the upper 30s by first pitch with a solid breeze out of the southeast.

The Hogs are coming off a season head coach Dave Van Horn described as a smoke and mirrors duct tape job of keeping a team winning that wasn't talented enough to get the number of wins Arkansas ultimately got that kept the Razorbacks in what he said was an inflated national ranking. However, Van Horn has been clear there won't need to be tricks to get wins out the current team, which has been backed by statements made by veteran players.

Arkansas vs. Washington St. (Game 1)

STARTING LINE-UPS:

Arkansas Razorbacks:

Starting pitcher:

Washington State Cougars

Starting pitcher:

Get to Know the Players

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• Kozeal Makes Big Push in Final Weekend of Razorback Scrimmages

• Razorbacks' Peppi Looks to Impact Line-up with Elite Energy

• Through Lens of Parent: Razorbacks' Jimenez Ready to Write His Own Story

• COVID Set Off First Domino In Davalan's Long Journey to Arkansas

• Van Horn Heaps Praise on Potential X Factor on Razorbacks Pitching Staff

1st Inning (Top)

Gaeckle decides to test Washington State right off the bat with a steady dose of mid-90s fastballs and strikes out Hartman. He keeps up the heat against the No. 2 hitter, then breaks out a nasty breaking pitch to start the season off with a pair of strikeouts.

Gaeckle saws off Longan Johnston for a pop-up to left field and his start is dramatically more successful that Hagan Smith's debut in the cold last season. Three up and three down on some nasty stuff from the Hogs' ace.

1st Inning (Bottom)

Davalan, who hopes to become every Razorback fans' favorite Canadian, gives this one a long ride to left field. In a few months that will be a home run, but in the cold, heavy air in Fayetteville today, it's a shot just shy of the warning track for a lead-off out.

Aloy shows patience at the plate. He's coming off a huge season in the Cape and is looking to pick up with a hot bat. He hits into a grounder. Griffin is driving the strike zone. Arkansas is going to get hits at some point today.

Maxwell, today's designated hitter, pops out and that's going to be the inning. A much different look than what we saw out of Gaeckle on the other side, but just as effective.

ARKANSAS 0, WASHINGTON STATE 0

2nd Inning (Top)

Geckle finds himself in quite a battle with the designated hitter, Longo. The 3-2 count has turned into a battle with a lot of fouls. Finally Gaeckle gets him with a breaking ball low in the zone. Helfrick may get the assist on that one as he managed to frame it higher than it was.

The Hogs' ace closes out a perfect inning with two quick outs to preserve what is expected to be a short pitch count today. He gets Skjonsby to pop up to the infield and then Obenour flies out to left-center on the first pitch he sees.

2nd Inning (Bottom)

Arkansas has sent a Canadian and a Hawaiian to the plate. Now Van Horn sends up Austalian Brent Iredale. He strikes out swinging in his debut, then Souza strikes out swinging also. Griffin is leaning hard on his off-speed stuff. Peppi debuts also, lining out to left field and the Hogs' bats are as cold as the breeze in the stadium to get started.

ARKANSAS 0, WASHINGTON STATE 0

3rd Inning (Top)

Gaeckle tries to pick the edges and it backfires. He starts off 3-0, battles back to 3-2, then misses high with a fastball. That makes the catcher, Cresswell, the first baserunner of the game for either team.

The fastball is still hitting mid-90s, but it's a breaking ball and a slider that sits Northrop down for the first out of the inning.

Cresswell gets a solid jump and Helfrick is unable to throw him out at second on a low pitch. The batter swung late, which bought just enough time to keep Helfrick from making a perfectly timed throw. On the next pitch, Gaeckle throws it inside and in the dirt and Cresswell is able to advance to third as the ball skips by.

Gaeckle strikes out Watterson looking to settle things down a little with a second out. He then works Roy to a 1-2 count, tries to go inside for the final strikeout, but clips Roy on the elbow. He has an elbow guard on, so he stood in there and just waited for it to skip off that guard and get the free base.

Johnston then hits a high chopper to Aloy at short who makes the flip to second, but things get adventurous. Souza bobbles the ball, but is able to corral it for the out to get out of the inning and keep this thing scoreless.

There ended up being a review of the play and the runner was out by an eyelash. The biggest part of that play was if the WSU runner had actually been going full speed, he would have easily been safe and the Cougars would be up 1-0.

3rd Inning (Bottom)

Kendall Diggs leads off the inning. He is coming off a bad shoulder injury last year that he played through that killed his chance to go pro. He got surgery in the offseason, so we will see if he's fully healed. He's only had live at-bats for a couple weeks now.

And there's a drive deep to right. If that says fair it's WAY out of here. It's hooking and it goes foul. That hit off the Macke sign out there. Huge blast, just couldn't stop spilling toward the line. Now Diggs has a hard line drive to left and a diving catch by Hartman. Had that gotten under the glove it would have easily been a double.

Helfrick gets the Hogs' first game of the season, and after talk of Van Horn considering changing up a little of the hitting philosophy, it's fitting Arkansas starts the year off with a perfect bunt for a single.

Thomas tries a bunt to the same area that rolls foul and the Cougars have come up at the corners. While the bunting part of the small ball approach is working well, Helfrick is told to steal second and he's out by a long shot as the Hogs give away an out. Arkansas needed to show it, but it wasn't a good look. The second baseman had to wait on Helfrick to get there.

Thomas gets walked and that out looms large now. Thomas goes on a 3-1 pitch to Davalan and he's in safe as Cresswell had the ball pop out of his hands as he got set to make the throw. He wouldn't have gotten the out though had the play been clean. Thomas got a great jump and has good speed.

Davalan flies out to Hartman down the line. He had to run a long way to get it, but he was able to track it down and the Hogs are kept off the scoreboard again. That out trying to steal second with Helfrick may come back to haunt the Hogs on that one.

ARKANSAS 0, WASHINGTON STATE 0

4th Inning (Top)

Gaeckle gets Johnston to pop up. Iredale, with ski mask up, comes away with it deep in the infield and the first out of the inning is official. He's approaching 60 pitches after a long second at-bat by Longo that results in an easy pop-up to the shallow outfield.

Just as it looked like Gaeckle would probably get out of this game without giving up a hit, Peppi has to dive far to his right at first. He makes a great play getting to it, but it bounces out off the heel of his glove and Skjonsby gets the Cougars' first hit of the game.

Obenour pops up to Diggs in right and we will stay scoreless. Although we don't know the pitch count for Gaeckle, it's probably not going to be as high as 75 today, which means he is probably done considering the cold. That will become far more likely if the Hogs can find a way to string together a few hits and stretch the next half inning.

4th Inning (Bottom)

Aloy strikes out to start the inning, but Maxwell hits a soft roller into right field to finally get the Hogs a hit that isn't a bunt. Iredale then reaches down and pokes a solid line drive into left field for a base hit and Arkansas is threatening for the first time today.

Souza gets a ball inside that he can't square up and it pops up to left field, far too shallow to move the runners. Peppi then pops up to the traditional second baseman area and the inning goes to waste. For four straight innings, everything is scoreless.

ARKANSAS 0, WASHINGTON STATE 0

5th Inning (Top)

At 67 pitches, Gaeckle is going to come out for at least part of the fifth inning after a relatively quick bottom of the fourth. Cresswell leads off swinging a ton, but the ball dies and it's an easy catch in dead center. Gaeckle then strikes out the next two swinging. That's seven strikeouts in five innings.

5th Inning (Bottom)

After a quick out to lead off the inning, Helfrick works a walk to give Arkansas a runner. Polk then hits a flat grounder directly to short for a double play and it's another scoreless inning. On a side note, it looks like McEntire is warming up to come in for Gaeckle.

6th Inning (Top)

McEntire comes out throwing low 90s with good location. He strikes out Hartman swinging with a fastball low in the zone. He then gets Roy swinging on the first pitch for an easy out to center for a pair of quick outs. After throwing 13 pitches that looked like he was doing his best Greg Maddux, Johnston battles for a long time and rips a line drive home run off brick wall on the concourse in right field and the Cougars have the lead.

Longo grounds out to end the inning, but the damage is done.

6th Inning (Bottom)

Shepard will now come in to relieve Smith. Davalan starts off with a single to left field. He then advances to second when the lefty tried to pick him off and threw the ball behind his back. Now Shepard throws a wild pitch, but Davalan holds. However, there's a meeting at the mound and this small, but fiesty crowd issues up the first Hog Call of the year.

Aloy swings at ball four, but is able to foul it off. He then takes the next pitch into right field. Unfortunately for the Hogs, it got out there in a hurry, allowing the throw to come to plate in plenty of time to hold Davalan at third, so Arkansas has runners at the corners with no outs.

Maxwell hits one deep to the gap in left-center. Watterson gets a fast break on the ball and runs a mile. He is able to extend and catch it on the warning track before sliding and that scores Davalan from third to tie the game, 1-1.

Iredale strikes out on a 1-2 pitch for the first out of the inning. Aloy gets a good jump and is able to steal second on a fairly good throw and the Hogs have a runner in scoring position with a full count and two outs. Souza strikes out for the second time today to go 0-for-3 and the Hogs let the Cougars off the hook.

WASHINGTON STATE 1, ARKANSAS 1

7th Inning (Top)

Skjonsby rips this one to right-center. It just keeps carrying. Davalan runs forever across the back of the warning track and is able to run it down as it stays in the field of play. Obenour then rips a hard liner to right field for a single fielded by Diggs on one hop.

Helfrick smothers one in the dirt and makes a rocket throw to second to throw out Obenour for the second out of the inning. It shouldn't have been possible for Helfrick to get the ball there fast enough on that one. Obenour had a good jump.

Then Cresswell hits a chopper to Aloy at short and the inning is over as McEntire keeps things even.

7th Inning (Bottom)

Peppi crushes a hard bouncer down the third base line, but Northrop snags it and makes a good throw to first for the out. That makes Peppi 0-for-3 to start his career as a Hog. Helfrick strikes out swinging to end the inning and that is six outs in a row to end the inning for Shepard after a shaky start.

WASHINGTON STATE 1, ARKANSAS 1

8th Inning (Top)

Thomas has a fly ball in foul territory in left field hit the palm of his glove and bounce out. However, McEntire bails him out by coming back to get the strikeout to start the inning. McEntire then drops a nasty curve ball to get Watterson looking for the second out. Now Van Horn comes to the mound and it looks like Parker Coil is going to come in to wrap this up. McEntire goes 2 2/3 innings, gives up one run and strikes out three. He threw 27 strikes on 37 pitches. The pitching staff has thrown strikes on 68% of its pitches to this point.

Coil comes in and gets Hartman to pop up to left-center, but Thomas gets a slow jump on the ball and drops the ball on the slide allowing Washington State to get a runner on. Hartman immediately steals second and the pressure is now on the Hogs.

However, a hard grounder to Iredale results in a rundown and he makes the tag to get out of the inning. Not the most recommended way to do it, but it's an out nonetheless and the Hogs have a chance to take the lead for the first time today.

8th Inning (Bottom)

Thomas with a one-hop grounder to short that is bobbled, but Roy is able to recover quickly and throw out the speedy Thomas. Davalan follows with an easy fly to left field and the Hogs are down to their final out this inning. Aloy then fouls on several balls, including one that leaves the yard, but his at-bat ends on a pop-up of a high pitch down the first base line to end the eighth.

Foutch was warming up to close, but it remains to be seen if he is still going to come in since the Hogs didn't take the lead.

WASHINGTON STATE 1, ARKANSAS 1

9th Inning (Top)

Foutch does come in and he is expected to bump close to 100 when he throws his fastball. Johnston takes a 1-2 pitch into left field for a single and the pressure is on for the Hogs. Looked like a splitter.

Chopper to third by Longo. Iredale fields it and gets the force at second, but the throw is late to first as Longo avoids the double play. Hard, hard line hit on the short hop to Souza who turns the double play to get the Hogs out of the inning and give them a chance to win this in the bottom of the ninth.

9th Inning (Bottom)

Maxwell grounds to second and the Hogs continue to be little threat at the plate. Iredale with a long drive deep to center and it's caught at the warning track in front of the 400-foot sign.

Arkansas would at least like to give Diggs a swing at it with the power he showed earlier in the game, but it's going to require a couple of guys not getting out for that to happen. The fans are showing energy for only the second time today to try to will the Hogs to a win.

Souza hits one to right that heads out there at 114 mph for a single and Arkansas has a chance. That will be it for Shepard.

Souza steals second and small ball has a runner in scoring position. Peppi hits a chopper to third and the shadow of Souza bearing down on Northrop distracted him and he booted it. That brings Diggs to the plate with the chance to win this.

Diggs waives at a curve ball inside in the dirt and we're headed to extra innings at Baum.

WASHINGTON STATE 1, ARKANSAS 1

10th Inning (Top)

Obenour fights off a 3-2 pitch for a hard grounder and Peppi boots it, so Wazzu has a lead-off runner. A sac bunt moves Obenour to second in scoring position.

Helfrick scoops up a ball driven into the ground by Northrop in front of the plate and has a ton of time to throw to first, but rushes it, throws side-armed and it sails into right field. That allows Obenour to score from second and the Cougars lead 2-1.

Now Watterson singles to shallow center to put runners on the corners and this one is getting away from the Hogs.

Aloy may have just made the greatest defensive play in Razorbacks' history. Aloy ran into the outfield and made an over-the-shoulder basket catch running away from the infield. He then turned and flung it without being able to set his feet, throwing a strike to Helfrick at the plate for the tag Northrop out at home. What an amazing play. The newcomers have struggle defensively all over the field, but Aloy just showed them how it's done. That's a play that gets him moved up in the MLB draft when time comes.

10th Inning (Bottom)

Helfrick gets into a full count early and fights off nine pitches to draw a lead-off walk to give the Hogs a chance. Thomas draws the walk on a pitch clock violation and Arkansas has runners at first and second with no outs. Davalan then fouls his way through a full count and draws the walk also to load the bases and the Hogs have a chance.

Aloy goes down swinging for the first out of the inning. And there's a wild pitch. Helfrick is going to score. Arkansas has tied it with two outs to work with.

Now WSU intentionally walks Maxwell and the bases are loaded again. Iredale lifts one to left field and this might be deep enough to score Thomas from third. Here's the throw to the plate.

He's safe. Thomas beat the throw by a mile and the Hogs steal one in the 2025 opener and it all goes back to that magical play by Aloy to end the 10th.

ARKANSAS 3, WASHINGTON STATE 2

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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