Gabe Gaeckle came up big for Arkansas during its first college baseball game of the College World Series. However, the right-handed pitcher’s shoelaces became an issue during the fifth inning because of his unique follow-through.
It was the first-ever shoelace delay in the history of the 77-year-old event!
Gaeckle was supposed to be one of the rotation arms for the Razorbacks during the 2025 college baseball season. That plan was not a disaster, it went okay, but he was not as productive as he was in relief the year prior so they moved the true sophomore back to the bullpen at the beginning of April. He holds a 1.97 ERA since the switch. His performance on Saturday was one of his best.
LSU chased Arkansas’ starter after just five outs. Gaeckle took over on the bump and finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts in a career-long six innings of work. The Razorbacks could not rally from the early deficit and lost but their 6-foot righty was phenomenal.
Oh My GacKKKKKKꓘKꓘ pic.twitter.com/pyghWanKc2
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) June 15, 2025
Gabe Gaeckle pushed north of 2,500 RPMs in the upper-90s with some of his fastballs. He put the SEC on notice for what is to come next season.
Gabe Gaeckle is absolutely DIALED IN on the mound for the Razorbacks! The stuff is ELECTRIC and he looks incredibly comfortable.
— Harrison Cordell Fant (@Fantavious9) June 15, 2025
Check out the ump cam here for the hitters’ POV. pic.twitter.com/CpBb7Wziif
His pitches were not the only things that were filthy! Gaeckle’s shoelaces gave out on him in the middle of the fifth inning. An Arkansas assistant asked the grounds crew to do some work on the mound while his pitcher went into the dugout to get a new pair of laces. He has to switch them out between (almost) every single inning because of how he drags his back foot on the ground. They don’t hold up!
I’ve never seen anything like it. His entire right foot drags in parallel to the ground while he throws!
The constant wear and tear on Gabe Gaeckle’s back cleat forces him to switch out his laces every three outs. It may not be an exact science but it’s a lot! Perhaps the Razorbacks should invest in some velcro?