Arkansas completes sweep of Charlotte with final inning diamond heroics

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – While the end result of Sunday’s 4-3 Arkansas win was a weekend sweep of college baseball foe Charlotte, both head baseball coaches left Baum-Walker Stadium feeling good about the future of their team.

Logan Maxwell’s one-out, bases-loaded, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth secured the Sunday win for the No. 4 Razorbacks (10-1).

That came after Arkansas rallied with a 10-run inning to take a 11-9 victory on Friday and came from behind again to grab a 8-5 decision over the 49ers on Saturday.

“Yeah, that was a really good series,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. “A lot of different scenarios, coming back the first day, and then kind of holding on, and then today letting the lead slip in the ninth and rallied there in the bottom of the ninth to win it.

“So hopefully we learn a little bit about ourselves. I do feel like that we have no problem playing from behind. We just don’t panic too much. We’ve got a pretty good team, pretty good lineup.”

Charlotte (4-6) brushed aside Parker Coli’s immaculate inning (9 pitches, 9 strikes, 3 strikeouts) in the eighth to tie the game in a top of s ninth that was certainly not immaculate for Arkansas closer Christian Foutch.

“I just had a good feel out there,” Coil said. “I was feeling pretty good, obviously. I had good command of everything that I was throwing. I don’t think I threw a fastball in that inning. Really just having good command. Trusting my stuff. Just trying to do what I do. I like to think that I’m a pretty good strike thrower, so just kind of trying to command the zone.”

Coli said it took a few pitches for him to realize what he had the opportunity of doing.

“Yeah, I would like to say in the middle probably of that third guy,” Coil said. “I was like, ‘man, I don’t think I’ve thrown a ball yet’. Just kind of trying to shove that to the side and get back to what you’re doing, and just kind of make pitches.”

Van Horn was worried he might have messed it up.

“I’m glad I didn’t jinx him because I said something with two outs and 0-2 count, I turned to coach and said something, Van Horn said. ” I don’t know if that’s like the no hitter, but he got it anyway.  Yeah, I don’t know if I’ve seen it. Honestly, If I have, I don’t remember. I’ve had some really good pitchers here and throughout my career, but I don’t remember it.”

Charlotte head coach Robert Woodard wasn’t looking for moral victories, but still impressed with his team that led 9-1 on Friday and 2-0 on Saturday before losing both games.

“I certainly am very proud of the effort from our guys,” Woodard said. “This Arkansas team is one of the best teams in the country.

“You know it is not really much (about) moral victories, but we have got big goals as a program and big aspirations. I know this program we just played all weekend does, too.

“What I believe this weekend for us can be is a weekend we can say – come May and June – that was the weekend that our team took it to another level.

“The key is now growing from it and playing at this level every single game because obviously the Razorbacks are going to get everybody’s best. It is just a matter of us continuing what we learned.”


Woodard agreed with a reporter’s assessment that his team was actually a few hits and misplays away from winning the series itself.

“It came down to basically a double play ball on Friday, a walk in the sixth and a huge swing of the bat by – was it Iredale or Aloy as I have kind of lost track – on Saturday and then today, they (the Razorbacks) had just some tough at bats in the bottom of the ninth.”

Charlotte greeted Foutch with two singles sandwiched around a hit batter to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Will McEntire (1-0) took over on the mound at that point and gave up a game-tying fielder’s choice, but kept it deadlocked at 3-3 after that to give his team a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.

Arkansas second baseman Nolan Souza – in a 1 for 22 slump to start – promptly got the rally going with a single.

“…Souza’s at-bat was outstanding,” Van Horn said. “He laid off the 2-2 slider down and in, the one he’s been swinging at like crazy. There was a ball, he took it and it went to a full count.

“Then he got the same pitch, but it was elevated for kind of a get-me-over strike, and he hit it right back through the middle, just the way you draw it up, and then we were off and rolling.

“We’ve got some guys swinging it really well. We’ve got some guys that didn’t swing well this weekend, and we’ll try to get that ironed out the next day or two.

“But overall, it’s really good weekend for us. Didn’t give them anything, didn’t walk very many people in the last four games and didn’t make a physical error, so that’s always good to see.”

Ryder Helfrick followed Souza’s hit with a walk and pinch hitter Cam Kozeal an infield hit to load the bases.

Charlotte pitcher Trey Baker retired Wehiwa Aloy on a liner to third before Woodard brought in left handed pitcher Chase Carson to face the lefty-swing Maxwell.

Maxwell wasted little time in ending it, taking the first pitch saw from Carson into center field for a game-winning single.

“Yeah, I knew that he threw a lot of sliders to lefties, so I was just trying to see one up, and I got the first available and put it in the outfield for a good runner with Souza to score,” Maxwell said.

The Charlotte rally in the ninth did keep Arkansas starting pitcher Landon Beidelschies from, getting his third win of the season.

Beideleschies went 6 1/3 innings while allowing one run on four hits, fanning seven, walking one and throwing 92 pitches, 62 for strikes.

Coil got the final two outs in the seventh inning and then electrified the crowd with his nine-pitch immaculate effort an inning later.

“It all started today with Landon pitched really well just kept them off-balance, gave us 6 1/3,” Van Horn said. “Think he went into the seventh inning with about 80 pitches, somewhere in there. We were hoping he could get a couple quick outs, but didn’t happen.

“But Coil came in and did an outstanding job again. I think he got five out, something like that.

“But it’s just good to see us do what we did. And I guess the other bright spot was McEntire. Came in a really tough spot.

“When I gave him the ball, I said, ‘Don’t worry about the runner on third. We get last at-bat. Let’s make sure that guy over there at first doesn’t score, and that’d be our big concern.’ He did it.

“He almost got a double-play ball, and think he got a strikeout. And then I remember how it finished.”

Arkansas outhit Charlotte 13-5 on Sunday with Kuhio Aloy having two of those.

Aloy is now batting .556 this season with team leads of 4 home runs and 16 RBIs.

Aloy’s third-inning RBI single started Sunday’s scoring and he moved a runner up in the sixth when Rocco Peppi delivered a sacrifice fly to put the Razorbacks up 2-0.

“Well, I mean, he is on fire right now,” Van Horn said.

After Corey Gunderson hit a sixth inning solo homer to cut Charlotte’s deficit to 2-1.

Ryder Helfrick walked and score on to wild pitches in the seventh to put Arkansas up 3-1.

Woodard praised the atmosphere and the reception his team was able to experience in Fayetteville.

“It was just awesome college baseball atmosphere and weekend,” Woodard said. “We have gotten a lot of compliments from people here, but this is a first class place and we appreciated it.”

Arkansas will return to action Tuesday at 3 p.m. as it hosts the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

The two teams will also play Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Photo by John D. James