By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — When Arkansas went back to the dugout after a disastrous bottom half of the ninth inning Saturday night, Dave Van Horn told his team to shrug it off.
So what if LSU, which struggled to score throughout the first two games of the weekend series, finally broke through with a three-run ninth and were three outs from a series-tying win? Van Horn said it was simply time for the Razorbacks to respond.
“They had their big inning. When are we going to have ours?” Van Horn said. “Thank goodness it happened for us.”
Arkansas came from behind to beat the Tigers 4-3 in front of a record-breaking crowd of 11,013 in Baum Stadium on Saturday, scoring all four runs in the ninth inning.
Arkansas catcher James McCann was the hero, hitting a game-winning three-run home run over the left field wall off LSU reliever Kevin Berry to ignite a celebration that lasted several minutes.
It also helped Arkansas (22-8, 5-6 in SEC) win its second straight against LSU (21-10, 3-8) and claim its first SEC series win of the season. The Razorbacks have a chance to sweep the Tigers this afternoon at 1:05.
“It meant a lot,” said McCann, whose home run also came in front of an ESPNU television audience. “We’re in a race. We’ve got to get back into things. We knew we had to win this ballgame. …
“We knew how important this was.”
But it looked bleak after LSU broke open what had been a pitching duel in the ninth inning. LSU’s Mason Katz hit a two-run triple off Arkansas closer Nolan Sanburn with one out in the inning, then scored one batter later to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead in a game that offered few offensive chances for either team.
The three-run inning snapped a string of 17 consecutive scoreless thrown by Arkansas’ pitching staff in the past two games. But Sam Bates said the Razorbacks refused to panic when they got their turn.
“We just had to put great at-bats together,” Bates said. “We just tried to get runners on base. One runner wasn’t important. Three were. We put together some good at-bats and it worked out for us.”
Collin Kuhn was hit by a pitch to lead off Arkansas’ ninth and, after advancing to second, scored on Bates’ RBI single to make it 3-1. Then Kyle Robinson flew out to right field and Ficociello singled.
It gave Arkansas runners on first and third with McCann coming to the plate.
“We showed a lot of heart,” McCann said. “Collin getting hit by a pitch, a base knock here, a base knock there and all of a sudden we’ve got the tying run to the plate. And the go-ahead run to the plate.
“That’s the way you’ve got to do it.”
McCann battled Berry, who had allowed only one home run in 14 previous appearances entering Saturday’s game. He fouled three pitches off, including one that might’ve left the park if it had stayed fair.
But McCann didn’t miss the sixth pitch of the at-bat, sending it out of the park for his fifth home run of the season.
“I knew he was going to come at me with his best pitch. That was a slider,” McCann said. “He kept throwing it, kept throwing it. And finally he left one up that I could handle and I was able to keep it fair.”
Sanburn (2-1) got the win despite his troubles in the ninth. Berry (2-1) suffered his first loss, wasting a strong pitching performance from LSU starter Kevin Gausman.
Gausman handcuffed Arkansas, allowing five hits in eight innings. He threw 126 pitches before being lifted before the ninth.
“Sometimes when you’re at home good things happen,” Van Horn said.
That was the cast Saturday. Arkansas claimed its first series win against LSU since 2004. It also was Arkansas’ first series win against the Tigers in Baum Stadium since 2001.
McCann, who knew the ball was leaving the yard as soon as he made contact Saturday night, was asked if he could remember hitting a home run that meant more.
“No,” he said. “Any time you can beat LSU on a walk-off home run, it can’t get any better than that.”
Extra Bases
Arkansas’ announced attendance of 11,103 for Saturday’s game is a Baum Stadium record. The previous record was 11,014, which was set against Arizona State on April 8, 2009. … Bo Bigham’s single in the third inning extended his hit streak to 10 games, which ties his career best. … Former Razorback and LPGA Nabisco Championship winner Stacy Lewis threw out the first pitch for Saturday’s game. … Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino attended the game with his parents. … Arvis Harper, the school’s first African-American baseball player, was honored before the fifth inning of Saturday’s game. Harper played at Arkansas from 1976-78.
