Arkansas baseball rallies past LSU to finish off weekend sweep

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas baseball team missed an opportunity last weekend to sweep an SEC rival ranked inside the top-25 when it lost the series finale to Auburn.

The Razorbacks didn't squander a second chance at an even more impressive weekend result against LSU.

No. 1 Arkansas (23-3, 8-1 SEC) topped the No. 7 Tigers (20-9, 2-7) 7-5 Saturday to complete a 3-0 weekend. Arkansas trailed 4-1 through four innings before scoring six straight runs and riding a dominant bullpen to the finish line. For LSU, this is the Tigers third consecutive series loss to begin life in the SEC.

This is just the second time in Dave Van Horn's tenure that the Hogs have started 8-1 in the SEC.

Here are four observations from the Razorbacks' win over the Tigers.

Bottom of the lineup delivers for Arkansas baseball

The Hogs trailed 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Jared Sprague-Lott drew a two-out walk that started a game-defining rally.

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The 7-8-9 hitters in the Arkansas order followed Sprague-Lott with three straight singles. Ty Wilmsmeyer drove in two runs with a base hit to left field, and leadoff hitter Peyton Stovall finished the inning with an RBI shot to right.

In a flash, LSU's three-run lead was gone, with the bottom of the Arkansas lineup doing a bulk of the damage. Will Edmunson hit seventh Saturday and went 3-for-3 with a walk, while Wilmsmeyer had three RBIs.

Will McEntire's inevitability

McEntire is pitching like one of the best relievers in the country, and the big righty is thriving in high-leverage situations.

McEntire entered the game with two outs, the bases loaded and Arkansas clinging to its 7-5 lead in the top of the eighth. The senior needed just four pitches to strike out Mac Bingham, who already had two homers earlier in the game, to get out of the jam.

McEntire got Tommy White — who represented the winning run — to line into a game-ending double play in the ninth and picked up his third save of the season. McEntire came on in relief of freshman Hunter Dietz, who made the first appearance of his collegiate career after an offseason procedure to heal a stress fracture delayed his Arkansas debut.

Short outings for both starting pitchers

Arkansas' Brady Tygart lasted just four innings as LSU hit three homers and scored four runs against the righty. Tygart didn't record a strikeout past the first inning.

LSU's Gage Jump was cruising along until the two-out rally in the fourth, and he was unable to get out of the inning. The Tigers turned to Nate Ackenhausen, who got out of the jam but took the loss by giving up three runs in the sixth.

Peyton Stovall finishes terrific weekend with a bang

Stovall went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one home run Saturday. His two-run blast in the seventh inning proved to be the difference, and for the weekend, Arkansas' second baseman was 7-for-13 with five RBIs.

Stovall is now hitting a team-high .364 after missing the first 12 games of the season with a broken foot.

There were six total home runs Saturday. Wehiwa Aloy had one for Arkansas, while Tommy White and Ashton Larson each hit solo shots to complement Bingham's two home runs for the Tigers.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas baseball rallies past LSU to finish off weekend sweep