BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU scored in double figures for the sixth straight game Sunday to give Skip Bertman his 800th career coaching victory, as the tenth-ranked Tigers defeated Arkansas, 17-11, in Alex Box Stadium.
The game was halted with LSU batting in the bottom of the eighth inning due to a time limit instituted because of Arkansas’ airline flight plans.
LSU (26-10, 10-4 in the SEC) won its sixth consecutive game to hold on to first place in the SEC Western Division. The Tigers have won 15 of their last 17 contests. Arkansas fell to 15-20 overall and 2-11 in the league with Sunday’s loss.
The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and never trailed, though Arkansas rebounded from an early 10-3 deficit to eventually pull within one run in the eighth inning.
Holding 12-11 in the eighth inning, the Tigers erupted for five runs. Catcher Ryan Jorgensen launched a two-run double, and right fielder Ray Wright ripped a two-run triple to highlight the uprising. There were two outs and two runners on when the game was stopped due to the time limit.
Jorgensen finished with four hits and five RBI on the day, and Hawpe collected four RBI with a grand slam in a six-run LSU fourth inning. Second baseman Mike Fontenot contributed a two-run homer in LSU’s four-run first inning.
The Tigers collected 16 hits, including eight doubles, one triple and two homers against five Arkansas pitchers.
Right-hander Jason Scobie, 1-0, earned his first career LSU victory, as he worked one shutout inning in relief. Arkansas starter Mike Moriarity, 2-2, took the loss, as he allowed seven runs on nine hits in three innings with one walk and one strikeout.
Bertman improved his LSU record to 800-301-2 in 17 seasons. He owns the third-highest winning percentage among active NCAA Division I baseball coaches.