Wehiwa Aloy's Own Ripken Streak Provides Stability For Arkansas

Razorback shortstop hits century mark in consecutive starts

Arkansas Razorbacks shortstop Wehiwa Aloy on second base in first inning against the Charlotte 49ers at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark | Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy still has a long way to go to break Cal Ripken, Jr.'s streak of 2,632 games in a row played. He's only 2,476 games short, or roughly 38 more seasons of college baseball before he can break the record.

Even with the NCAA handing out extra eligibility like free Costco samples, Aloy won't stay long enough to break the record in a Razorbacks uniform, but in two and a half seasons, Aloy has never missed a game, appearing in all 156, having just made his 100th straight start dating back to his freshman season at Sacramento State (He appeared as a pinch-hitter for one game in May 2023).

The Razorbacks' sweep of Vanderbilt, the first in 20 years, proved Aloy's value despite one of his worst weekends at the plate. He was 2-for-15 and did not have an extra-base hit with four strikeouts. The rest of the bats picked up the slack and scored 22 runs against a pitching staff which came into the weekend second in the SEC in ERA (3.23).

Aloy erased a would-be lead-off hit in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game off the bat of catcher Colin Barczi with a jump throw falling away toward the outfield grass. Not only did it keep the winning run off the bases, it kept Arkansas from bringing a pinch runner and wreaking havoc on the bases.

Vanderbilt was 43-for-47 in stolen bases (91%) and had already stolen three bags in the game,

There's a Gold Glove in Wehiwa's future pic.twitter.com/x9ERJmqvPb

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) March 29, 2025

"[The ball] was just hit in the right spot," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "He backhands, jump throws, perfect throw and it had something on it actually. If he doesn’t make that play, they got a runner at first, they’re going to bunt him over and they’ve got the top of their order up with their best hitter. So, you can say that it saved the game. They might have walked us off the field, you never know what would have happened."

Since transferring to Arkansas, Aloy has been the one constant presence in the line-up, starting all 89 games at shortstop. No day off in a midweek, not even a break from the field with a spot start at designated hitter.

Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy on the infield against South Carolina at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks won 12-2 in seven innings. | Nilsen Roman- Hogs on SI Images

Deja vu hit again on Sunday. Barczi hit it to short to lead off the ninth again. The play was far more mundane, but Aloy made it without issue. He has just three errors on 104 chances this season.

"He doesn’t take his bat to the field with him mentally," Van Horn said. "He just keeps making plays, fielding, throwing, accurate. You think about that play in the ninth inning. That ball was hit 107 MPH on the ground right to the shortstop and he fielded it, took his time and threw a strike. Now we only need two outs. Mature player."

As for the century streak, it won't be coming to an end any time soon if Aloy has anything to say about it.

"I do talk to him here and there about ‘Hey, I’m going to give you a day off,’" Van Horn said. "He just fights me. He doesn’t want a day off."

Arkansas will face Grambling for the second time this season as part of its yearly trip to Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday and will be streamed on SEC+. The Razorbacks won the first meeting in Fayetteville 14-3 in seven innings.

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