Aloy, Root power Razorbacks past UCLA; sets up semifinal showdown vs. LSU
OMAHA, Neb.– Wehiwa Aloy’s big night at the plate paired with Zach Root’s bounce back start pushed Arkansas past UCLA, 7-3, on Tuesday night at the College World Series inside Charles Schwab Field.
Aloy, a Golden Spikes finalist, wasted no time with his two-run opposite field home run in the bottom of the first inning. The SEC Player of the Year made it a three-run Arkansas lead with an RBI-triple in the fifth.
With his 21st blast of the year, Aloy now holds sole possession of fourth place for home runs in a single season in program history and also moved up to ninth all-time with 35 career homers as a Razorback. His three-bagger – his second of the year – puts him within the ranks of the legendary Jeff King for third-most total bases in a single season for a Hog with 178.
Root was stellar in a big bounce back effort following Saturday’s CWS opener. The lefty tossed five scoreless innings and fanned five to earn the win just three days after getting only five outs against LSU. He moved up to seventh on the Hogs’ single-season strikeouts list with 126 on the year.
Justin Thomas Jr. remained hot in his first trip to Omaha picking up two more hits, including an RBI double. Logan Maxwell continued his NCAA postseason tear when he picked up a two-run double to score Brent Iredale and Aloy that put the Hogs up 5-0 in the bottom of the 7th. Iredale added two hits, reaching base four times with a pair of walks, and scored three runs.
In relief, Aidan Jimenez had himself a day on the mound with three scoreless innings of work, only giving up one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
With the win, the Razorbacks achieved their fifth 50-win season in program history and second under Head Coach Dave Van Horn, joining teams from 1985, 1987, 1989 and 2021.
Arkansas will take on LSU at 6 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN, needing a win to force a winner-takes-all game on Thursday to advance to the championship series.
