Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick entered Friday night’s game against Auburn as a defensive replacement, but the catcher managed to make a huge statement with his bat. And we do mean huge.
Helfrick gave the Razorbacks a 6-5 lead in the top of the 9th inning with a towering home run that soared over the 37-foot left field wall at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala. The true freshman turned on a 90-mph fastball from pitcher John Armstrong and sent it more than 400 feet.
A video of the towering shot went viral.
This baseball was DESTROYED @StoolBaseball pic.twitter.com/6RoICjw04d
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 23, 2024
Arkansas then had a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th to seal the 6-5 victory.
Helfrick was the unexpected star of the game for the Razorbacks. In addition to hitting a moonshot that turned out to be the game-winner, he also threw out Auburn’s leadoff hitter at second in the bottom of the 8th inning.
No. 1 Arkansas will go for the series sweep over Auburn on Saturday.
