Arkansas baseball's offense comes to life behind Wehiwa Aloy in CWS victory over UCLA

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6 days ago

OMAHA, Neb. — Two days of sluggish offense for Arkansas baseball disappeared after two at-bats against UCLA, and the Razorbacks' Golden Spikes Finalist was the catalyst.
Wehiwa Aloy hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first and spurred Arkansas to a 7-3 victory over UCLA on Tuesday night, sending the Hogs to the semifinals of the College World Series. After scoring four runs through their first two games in Omaha, the Razorbacks came to life behind Aloy, who went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs in one of his best games at the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
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"It was a big swing, especially in the first inning, scoring first," Arkansas outfielder Logan Maxwell said. "Kind of building off of that, it was pretty good."
The swing Maxwell referred to was a 377-foot opposite field home run from Aloy. His no-doubter to right field featured an exit velocity of 109 mph, fighting through the breeze for a 2-0 lead against UCLA starter Cody Delvecchio. It was Aloy's 21st home run of the season, putting him alone in fourth in the Arkansas single-season record book.
As he rounded third, Aloy brandished his smile that shines as loud as the gold chain around his neck. It's difficult to hit opposite-field home runs in the pitcher's friendly Charles Schwab Field, but Aloy showed why he is viewed as a first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
"The wind kind of shifted a little bit," Aloy said. "I seen the ball going there, got it pretty good and put some runs on for the team."
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Aloy went the opposite way again in the bottom of the fifth. A 408-foot missile to right center field hit the top of the wall and scored Brent Iredale, giving the Hogs a 3-0 lead that felt insurmountable with Zach Root and Aiden Jimenez cruising on the mound. That duo combined for eight scoreless innings, with Root starting his second game at the College World Series and bouncing back after a poor performance against LSU.
From there, the Hogs scored four more runs. Logan Maxwell hit a two-run double the opposite way in the seventh, and the Hogs tacked on two more runs in the eighth. Cam Kozeal scored on a wild pitch, and Justin Thomas Jr. drove in Iredale with an RBI double. Thomas now has six hits in the past two games.
Head coach Dave Van Horn doesn't think the opposite-field damage was a coincidence.
"I thought they did a great job trying to stay through the middle of the field. And that leads to hitting the ball the other way, and with some authority," he said.
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Another positive trend for Arkansas was late-inning damage as the Razorbacks scored their final five runs with two outs. Van Horn called that stat 'the separator'.
Jun 17, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks shortstop Wehiwa Aloy (9) fields a ground ball against the UCLA Bruins during the sixth inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
He'll hope the Hogs can create some separation with an SEC rival Wednesday night. Arkansas gets a rematch with LSU in the semifinals, needing to beat the Tigers twice in the next two days.
The Razorbacks feel like the offense's slow start in Omaha is a thing of the past.
"It's a big ballpark and we're a home-run hitting team," said Iredale, who went 2 for 2 with two walks and three runs Tuesday.
"We've got to find other ways to get runs in, and I think we've adjusted to this field. There's more to come."
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Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [e-mail] or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Wehiwa Aloy sparks Arkansas baseball's win over UCLA at CWS