Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

4/10/2011 at 7:50pm

Late Saturday night when their celebration of a victory against LSU had subsided, Arkansas players began turning their focus to Sunday’s series finale.

They were assured of a series victory and emotionally drained. Still, the Razorbacks knew Sunday was a critical game. They couldn’t afford to be satisfied with the first series victory against the Tigers since 2004, and they couldn’t bear the thought of relaxing when there was ground to be gained in the SEC West standings.

“Fake it to make it. If you’re tired, tell yourself you’re not,” fourth-year junior shortstop Tim Carver said of the message circulating the clubhouse prior to Sunday’s game.

There was nothing fake about what happened on Sunday as the Razorbacks earned a 5-4 victory and series sweep against the Tigers. Arkansas players showed very real toughness and genuine fight as they put together another final-inning victory against No. 15 LSU (21-11,3-9 SEC).

No. 22 Arkansas (23-8,6-6 SEC) now has a legitimate chance at fighting for the SEC West title. The Razorbacks sit just a game behind Alabama now thanks to more late-inning heroics with 7,842 fans watching.

Kyle Robinson drove in Bo Bigham for the winning run with the bases loaded. Bigham had reached on a double to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a fielding error from seemingly unflappable LSU closer Matty Ott. Matt Reynolds reached when Ott failed to field a bunt and Sam Bates was intentionally walked.

Robinson followed up with a fly to left that gave Bigham just enough time to score.

It wasn’t as dramatic as the three-run home run James McCann used on Saturday to lift the Razorbacks in the ninth inning before a stadium-record crowd of 11,103. But it was just as effective.

Arkansas’ victory hammered home a point Coach Dave Van Horn had been making to his team. Even though they’d dropped three series to start the SEC slate, Van Horn wanted his team to know they could still be in the hunt.

“We knew we had to win the series at a minimum,” Van Horn said. “When we [beat LSU on Saturday], they said they were ready to complete out and play today. They weren’t satisfied. We proved it a little bit.”

Arkansas hardly looked the part of division contender a week ago, committing eight errors over three days. Alabama went 2-1 against the Razorbacks and seemed to be in control of the West.

A week later, the Crimson Tide (21-12, 7-4) still lead the race, but have now dropped four SEC games in a row. Arkansas has won its last four and hosts struggling Mississippi State (21-10, 5-6) next weekend.

Knowing what was at stake, the Razorbacks adopted a more business-like approach during pregame. They carried that attitude over in the game, jumping ahead 3-0 on Carver’s two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth.

When freshman Barrett Astin surrendered a grand slam an inning later and the team fell behind 4-3, there was no panic. Arkansas stayed error-free on defense and kept fighting on offense as Astin settled in for 2 1/3 innings to set up winner Cade Lynch.

LSU managed only one hit off Lynch in 1 1/3 innings. He improved to 3-1, working his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning. Arkansas’ pitching came up big against the Tigers all weekend, allowing them to score in just two of the 27 innings played.

It worked out just like players had talked about before they hit the field. Winning the series was just the start and Robinson helped finish things off for the Razorbacks.

“We were focused,” Robinson. “We knew we won the series against LSU for the first time in six years, but we had to stay the course. We came out in [batting practice] and were focused. We weren’t really laughing. It was all business.”

Tagged: Baum Stadium, LSU Tigers, Dave Van Horn, Barrett Astin, Cade Lynch, Bo Bigham, Matt Reynolds, Arkansas Razorbacks, Kyle Robinson