Gaeckle's Rough Outing May Pay Long-Term Dividends for Arkansas

Van Horn, Razorbacks spot something in ace before SEC play

Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Gabe Gaeckle in first inning against the Charlotte 49ers at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For Arkansas ace Gabe Gaeckle, Friday's start against Charlotte was a statistical disaster.

He allowed nine earned runs while recording the same number of outs. The team came back and won the game 11-10 with a 10-run fourth inning, but it shot Gaeckle's ERA to astronomical proportions, from 1.69 to 7.24.

If you ignore the unsightly ERA, the sophomore righty may have been forced to reckon with an flaw the coaching staff spotted after the poor start. A big portion of his pitches were all landing in the same spot.

"Just move it around [location-wise] a little bit more," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "Who’s to say that’s exactly what it is? The hardest guys to hit are the guys that have stuff that can move the ball around, pitch inside and outside. He can throw it where he wants it, It’s not an excuse, but that’s a little bit of what we probably should have taken care of that earlier."

Van Horn and his staff were able to talk to former Razorback graduate assistant Phillip Cebuhar. Cebuhar worked under Van Horn for the Razorbacks from 2019-21 and is the current Charlotte hitting coach.

"We talked to Phil," Van Horn said. "Their plan was to attack the fastball away and hit it the other way. You get that breaking ball, just try to pull it. That’s the thing, you think about the first inning, slider leaves the yard. Fastballs were going oppo, and that’s where we were pitching them."

Gaeckle simply became too predictable within the strike zone, allowing hitters to neutralize his velocity.

"He throws it over the plate," Van Horn said. "When he misses it’s not by much. So if you’re on auto-swing and you’re looking to the outside and you get it outside, you’re going to make contact with it. Guys are good hitters. It doesn’t matter how hard you throw if they know where it’s going."

Both his teammates and Van Horn expressed supreme confidence the first-year starter will get back on track starting Friday against Portland.

"He’s just a good pitcher," Van Horn said. "He’ll be fine."

"You can look at it however you want to." fellow Razorbacks pitcher Parker Coil said. "I think that he’s going to look at it, maybe it’s one thing, maybe it’s another, but I think he’s going to get back to doing what he does."

Before Gaeckle's next start, Arkansas will face Louisiana-Monroe in a two-game series at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday and will be streamed on SEC+.

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