FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Kyle Washburn’s two-run double in the bottom of the sixth helped Arkansas erase a 3-2 LSU lead as the Razorbacks completed a remarkable thee-game sweep of the top-ranked Tigers with a 4-3 victory Sunday at Baum Stadium.
The sweep was the first suffered by LSU since losing three at home to Houston last year, and the first in a Southeastern Conference series since getting swept by Florida in Gainesville March 22-24, 1996, a span of 55 straight series without a sweep, which is a conference record.
The Tigers (36-16-1, 17-10) now find themselves in second place in the SEC, one game behind conference-leading Georgia (36-15, 18-9), which completed a three-game sweep of Vanderbilt with a 7-6 win on Sunday. LSU still holds a one-game lead over Ole Miss (35-17-1, 16-11) in the SEC West, as the Rebels lost 5-4 at Tennessee, allowing the Volunteers to complete a three-game sweep.
LSU, which will fall in the polls after being ranked first by Baseball Weekly and second by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, returns to action on Friday at 7 p.m. when they begin their final three-game SEC series against Auburn in Alex Box Stadium.
LSU trailed 2-0 going into the sixth, but got their biggest inning of the series by scoring three runs to take the lead. Bryan Moore and Matt Heath led off with back-to-back singles, and after Johnnie Thibodeaux struck out, Sean Barker grounded a single through the left side to load the bases.
Aaron Hill drew a bases-loaded walk from starter Wes McCrotty to put LSU on the board, then reliever Scott Roehl yielded a game-tying single to Ryan Theriot. LSU took only its second lead of the series at 3-2 on Wally Pontiff’s sacrifice fly.
Tim Nugent relieved Tiger starter Bo Pettit to start the sixth, and immediately put two runners on by hitting Brian Kirby and walking Michael Conner. Cliff Crouse sacrificed both runners to second and third, then Washburn lined a Weylin Guidry pitch past Pontiff at third to give the Razorbacks (27-26, 11-16) their tying and winning runs.
LSU’s last chance came in the eighth as David Raymer singled and stole second with one out, but he was caught napping off second on a hit-and-run when Theriot lifted a fly ball to short right field, and the Tigers went out in order in the ninth.
Roehl scattered thre hits over 3 2/3 innings to improve to 4-4 on the season, while Nugent took the loss and fell to 6-2.
Kirby got the Razorbacks on the board in the first with an RBI double, and that score held until Arkansas got another run on Jeff Hoefler’s sacrifice fly in the fifth.