Arkansas stars rise to the occasion against UCLA to set LSU rematch

Zach Root, less than 72 hours after recording just five outs against LSU in the opening game, bounced back with five scoreless innings with five strikeouts on 87 pitches.

UCLA, acting as the road team, put the pressure on Root right away, loading the bases in the top of the first with one out. 

Root may have been experiencing deja vu, UCLA loaded the bases in a very similar way that LSU did in the second inning that derailed his first outing.

Left fielder Dean West led off the game with a single up the middle. Potential 2027 first-overall MLB Draft pick shortstop Roch Cholowsky blooped a hit to put the first two on.

Third baseman Roman Martin worked an eight-pitch walk to load the bases with one out.

The result would be different, Aloy caught a knuckling line drive for the second out.

West continued to dance further and further down the line at third base as the inning continued before taking off for home on the first pitch. 

He had been 13-for-16 in stolen bases on the year, but catcher Ryder Helfrick tagged him just before West got his fingers on the plate.

The Arkansas offense wasted no time taking advantage of their opportunities after UCLA failed to take theirs. Aloy whacked a two-run homer to right in front of a Charles Davalan single. Both hits came with two strikes.

In the fifth, UCLA coach John Savage opted to pitch to Aloy with two outs and first base open. Aloy just missed his second homer by a few feet, instead settling for an RBI triple for an insurance run.

The pitching staff continued a string of dominance, albeit giving up the odd hit here and there. Dating back to the ninth inning of LSU, the staff put together 18 straight scoreless innings before UCLA scored three in the ninth.

UCLA had just four at-bats with runners in scoring position in the first eight innings.

Logan Maxwell added a two-run double in the seventh with two outs to apply the coupe de grace before the offense tacked on two more in the eighth.

Arkansas will now get another crack at LSU. The Hogs pitching staff is undoubtedly in a better place than it was when LSU beat the Hogs to start the College World Series.

Jimenez got six outs on 41 pitches before Will McEntire pitched the ninth.

The Razorbacks managed to set up the rematch with LSU using just four different pitchers.

The rematch between the Hogs and the Tigers is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday and will be broadcast on ESPN.

The Razorbacks will need to beat the Tigers twice in a row to advance to the finals. LSU is 3-1 on the season against Arkansas and 4-0 in the College World Series all time.

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