FAYETTEVILLE -- Logan Maxwell hit a one-out RBI single to plate Nolan Souza in the bottom of the ninth inning and allow No. 4 Arkansas to defeat Charlotte 4-3 on Sunday and complete a three-game sweep.
Dave Van Horn talked about the rally in the bottom of the ninth after surrendering a two-run lead in the top half of the inning.
"No, but I thought about it for, you know, real quick and I thought, ‘I’ve coached for a lot of games, but I’ve never had a tie,’" Van Horn said. "Which, it’s kind of unheard of, really. I thought, ‘Well, this could be the first one.’ Once we loaded the bases with no outs, I was feeling pretty good. I think Wehiwa (Aloy), he didn’t have a great day at the plate today and he would tell you, but the great thing about him, when he has a bad day at the plate, he doesn’t take it to the field, man. He still makes play after play. When he didn’t get him in and Maxwell had the left-on-left matchup, it really doesn’t matter to Logan. That’s one reason I hit him in the three-hole. He hits lefties just as well as he hits right-handers."
Arkansas appeared to be in good shape holding a 3-1 lead entering the ninth. However, Christian Foutch couldn't get anyone out. A single, hit by pitch and another single cut the lead to 3-2. Van Horn went to the bullpen and called former Bryant standout Will McEntire.
McEntire immediately got Carson Bayne to ground into a fielder's choice, but Noah Furcht scored from third to tie the game. McEntire then struck out a hitter and got a ground out leaving two runners stranded.
In the bottom of the ninth, second baseman Nolan Souza batting for the first time singled to lead off the inning. Ryder Helfrick walked. Cam Kozeal pinch hitting for Justin Thomas reached on an infield hit to load the bases with no outs. Wehiwa Aloy hit a line shot to third for the first out. That is when Maxwell recorded his third hit of the day driving in Souza for the win.
"Yeah, that was a really good series," 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."
McEntire earned the win, his first decision on the year. Starter Landon Beidelschies was outstanding. He worked 6.1 innings allowing just four hits, one run, walked a hitter and struck out seven.
"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 (Parker) 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 scored a run in the bottom of the third. Wehiwa Aloy and Maxwell each singled with one out. Brent Iredale struck out for the second out. But then Kuhio Aloy, as he has done all season, once again delivered with an RBI single to plate his brother.
The Hogs stretched the lead to 2-0 when Iredale started off the bottom of the sixth with a double. He got to third on a ground out by Kuhio Aloy. He then tagged and scored on a flyout by Rocco Peppi.
Charlotte got on the scoreboard for the first time in the top of the seventh when Cody Gunderson sent a shot over the fence for a solo home run off Beidelschies.
Charlotte (4-6) reliever Adam Stanton took the loss. He was one of six pitchers to take the mound for them. Van Horn talked about Foutch who faced three hitters and couldn't get any of them out.
"So, the crazy thing, the pitch he hit the batter with was a breaking ball," Van Horn said. "That was frustrating because he blew him up, blew the first two fastballs by him and figured the guy was going to cheat out there. We just wanted him to bounce it and he was way off on it. The first hitter, he had him down two strikes and threw him a fastball. Give the hitter a little credit there, he smoked a ball through the four-hole oppo. Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but if they get hits, you can live with that. A walk every now and then, but hitting guys, especially when you’re ahead in the count like that, it’s not a good thing."
Van Horn also explained to decision to go with McEntire over Dylan Carter when Foutch struggled.
"Well, first off, Coach came to me," Van Horn said of Matt Hobbs. "We already kind of had a plan if it got to this situation or if Christian, if it wasn’t going good, who are we going to bring in, which one? I thought, because Carter had already pitched this weekend, I just felt like Mac deserved a chance to get out there. They hadn’t seen him. It just seemed like the right move to bring him in. He hadn’t been out there, he’s done it before. He has had some just okay outings his last two, he came in and did a tremendous job. That’s really what went down there."
Arkansas (10-1) will host ULM (5-5) for a two-game series with games on Tuesday and Wednesday beginning at 3 p.m. both days. Both games can be streamed on the SEC Network+.
Photos Craven Whitlow
