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Arkansas Razorbacks Plan to Win Another SEC Series in Distant Road Test

South Carolina has two outstanding starting pitchers preventing cakewalk for No. 4 Hogs
Bob Stephens|
Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Gabe Gaeckle will start Friday's series opener at South Carolina.
Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Gabe Gaeckle will start Friday's series opener at South Carolina. | Arkansas Communication

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Arkansas RazorbacksSouth Carolina Gamecocks

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn's No. 4-ranked Razorbacks are on the road this weekend after playing their last 18 games in the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Hogs are set to clash with unranked South Carolina at Founders Park in their second SEC series of the season.

Arkansas opened SEC play last weekend by taking 2-of-3 from Mississippi State, then ranked No. 3.

Win the series. That's always Van Horn's directive to the Razorbacks. Sweeps are great, but the goal is to win every series.

Could be crucial weekend if Hogs are to contend for title

As coaches will say, every weekend is a big series. Why is this one? South Carolina is 0-3 in the conference and have lost five in a row.

Well, if the Hogs hope to be atop the SEC standings when the regular season ends May 16, they'd better beat up on the lower-tier teams. South Carolina definitely appears to be one of those.

The Gamecocks got swept by Florida, now ranked No. 18. The Gators are atop the conference along with Auburn and Kentucky, which each swept a home series against Missouri and Alabama, respectively

Arkansas is among 10 teams with a 2-1 SEC mark. If the Razorbacks are to contend for the title, they need to take care of business against the less fortunate teams.

That necessity starts Friday in Columbia, S.C. The entire series will be streamed on SECN+ with Friday's first pitch set for 6 p.m. Central. Saturday's game is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the Sunday finale will get started at 12:30 p.m.

Can Hogs hitters handle pair of top Gamecocks hurlers?

Despite the disappointing outcome at Florida, the Gamecocks got outstanding pitching performances from their Friday and Saturday starters.

Junior right-hander Josh Gunther no-hit the Gators for 6.1 innings in the series opener. Unfortunately, he had no offensive support as Florida escaped with a 1-0 victory.

Gunther, a transfer from Wake Forest, was SEC Pitcher of the Week after his Feb. 27 gem against No. 15 Clemson. He went seven innings in the 7-0 victory, allowing three hits and a walk while whiffing 10.

Amp Phillips, another junior right-hander for South Carolina, tossed six innings without allowing an earned run, but the Gamecocks dropped that one by a 3-0 score.

Here's Arkansas' rotation for the South Carolina series

Van Horn said after Wednesday's win over Northern Colorado that he'd start the same trio who took the mound against Mississippi State.

That means Gabe Gaeckle (2-1, 2.73 ERA) will toe the slab Friday with Nathan Dietz (2-2, 4.18) getting the call Saturday and Colin Fisher (2-1, 1.95) finishing the three-game set.

Gaeckle and Fisher were solid, but hardly spectacular, against Mississippi State. They fared well enough as the Hogs won Friday and Sunday to enjoy a good start to their 30-game SEC slate.

Gaekle allowed two earned runs in 5.2 innings while Fisher surrendered three earned runs in 4.2 frames. Dietz was roughed up for five earned runs on four hits and three walks before being lifted with two outs in the fifth.

Gamecocks trying to stop frustrating slide

South Carolina has lost five consecutive games. The Citadel beat the Gamecocks, 8-3, before the Florida series and Charlotte logged an 11-8 win at Founders Park Tuesday.

South Carolina's best hitter has been freshman Will Craddock, a 6-foot, 225-pound second baseman. However, against Florida he went 2-for-12 while hitting lead-off twice and third in the line-up the other time.

Then skipper Paul Mainieri moved him down into the three-hole again against Charlotte, a move that paid off as Craddock regained his stroke. He went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, his team-best fifth home run and his fifth double.

The Gamecocks have no running game. They've attempted 17 steals and were caught eight times.

In contrast, Arkansas runners have been thrown out seven times in 40 attempts.

Kozeal leads what could be dangerous Hogs' line-up

Camden Kozeal tops Arkansas hitters with six homers and 27 RBIs and is second with his .346 average to Hogs outfielder Damian Ruiz's .359.

Hogs catcher Ryder Helfrick (.338, 5, 16) has seen his bat come around along with shortstop TJ Pompey, a transfer who had a productive 2025 season at Texas Tech.

Pompey was benched by Van Horn last Friday, but delivered a dramatic game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth after the Bulldogs had rallied to tie the game in the top of the ninth.

Pompey belted his third homer Wednesday, one of the Hogs' six extra-base hits against Northern Colorado. Pompey's homer against Mississippi State was a bomb to deep right-center while this one below was drilled to left.

Kozeal doubled twice in that 13-2 win, which saw the Hogs break it open with four runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth. Ruiz homered and doubled in that game.

Kuhio Aloy (.311, 3, 21) and Maika Niu (.293, 3, 20) — like most of the Hogs' hitters — need to be more consistent if Arkansas is to contend for an SEC title.

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Bob Stephens
BOB STEPHENS

Bob Stephens won more than a dozen awards as a sportswriter and columnist in Northwest Arkansas from 1980 to 2003. He started as a senior for the 1975 Fayetteville Bulldogs’ state championship basketball team, and was drafted that summer in the 19th round by the St. Louis Cardinals but signed instead with Norm DeBriyn's Razorbacks, playing shortstop and third base. Bob has written for the Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, New Jersey Star-Ledger, and many more. He covered the Razorbacks in three Final Fours, three College World Series, six New Year’s Day bowl games, and witnessed many track national championships. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Pati. Follow on X: @BobHogs56

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