LSU baseball team takes series at Arkansas

Right-hander Jared Bradford earned his 10th win of the season Sunday and center fielder Jared Mitchell made a spectacular catch to prevent a game-tying home run in the ninth inning as LSU defeated third-ranked Arkansas, 5-3, before 9,203 fans at Baum Stadium. With the win, the Tigers improved to 28-21-1 overall and 11-12-1 in the Southeastern Conference and took the series.

LSU captured a 6-5 victory on Friday and fell 5-0 on Saturday.

The series win marked the Tigers’ third on the road this season. The Tigers also have series victories at Alabama and Mississippi State.

LSU returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday when it plays host to Florida in Alex Box Stadium.

“This was another tremendous effort by our team,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “I’m so proud of these kids for coming into a tough environment and winning a series against one of the best teams in the country.”

Bradford (10-2) exited the game after the fifth inning with a pitch count of 85. He threw 39 pitches on Friday night to record a relief win over Arkansas. Bradford limited the Razorbacks to two runs on six hits Sunday with no walks and two strikeouts. Bradford now has either a win (seven of them) or a save (three of them) in 10 of LSU’s 11 SEC victories this season.

LSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning Sunday when Chris Jackson scored on Blake Dean’s single.

After Arkansas tied the game, the Tigers regained the lead with a run in the second on a throwing error. Arkansas tied the game again in the third.

Dean led off the fourth with a home run n his seventh of the year n to give LSU a 3-2 lead. The Tigers maintained the one-run edge into the seventh inning when they added a pair of runs on a two-run double by Robert Lara.

Freshman left-hander Shane Ardoin did a great job in relief of Bradford, holding Arkansas scoreless through three innings. However, the Razorbacks mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth inning cutting the deficit to 5-3.

Mainieri replaced Ardoin with right-hander Paul Bertuccini, who recorded a strikeout, a single and a popup. The final out of the contest came on a deep fly ball into right-centerfield that was caught by a leaping Mitchell at the top of the wall. Bertuccini’s save was his fourth of the season.

On Saturday, the Tigers were limited to seven hits as Michael Hollander was the only LSU player to get more than one (he had two) safeties.

On Friday, Jackson delivered an RBI single in the top of the ninth inning Friday night to lift LSU. The game was played before a Baum Stadium-record crowd of 10,147, breaking the previous mark of 10,027 set in the 2004 NCAA Super Regional versus Florida State.

With one out in the top of the ninth inning, LSU designated hitter Nicholas Pontiff singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Jackson’s liner to center field.

LSU reliever Jared Bradford retired the Razorbacks in order in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the win.

LSU starter Ryan Byrd allowed two unearned runs on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Earlier in the game, Pontiff singled in a run and Jackson had a two-run double. Both Pontiff and Jackson finished the game with three hits.

Dean also added a two-run single in the contest.

LSU SWEEPS SOUTHERN, NICHOLLS STATE IN DOUBLEHEADER

On Tuesday, LSU won a rare day-night doubleheader edging Southern, 9-7, and whipping Nicholls State, 8-3.

The Tigers were forced to schedule the non-conference DH because rain wiped out the original date of the Southern contest (April 25).

Against Southern, LSU erased a 5-4 deficit with five runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Jackson went 4-for-4 and scored a run from the leadoff spot, and third baseman J.T. Wise added two hits with a double, a homer and a career-high five RBI. Right fielder Jason Lewis provided a two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning.

Bertuccini (1-2) got his first career win after allowing one hit and no earned runs in two innings of work. He was one of four LSU pitchers who saw action. Starter Charlie Furbush, worked four innings, allowing four hits and a run. The left-hander didn’t allow a walk and struck out six.

Against Nicholls, the Tigers got a great starting effort from senior left-hander Clay Dirks, who allowed one run in five-plus innings. Dirks improved to 3-1 on the season. The victory was the 26th of his career, placing him one win shy of 10th-place in LSU career pitching wins.

Dirks was one of four Tiger players honored prior to the game as part of LSU’s Senior Night ceremonies, which also included outfielder Steven Broschofsky, outfielder Steven Waguespack and pitcher Jonathan Wilhite.

Broschofsky went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. First baseman Jordan Mayer launched one of the longest homers in Alex Box Stadium history, and catcher Sean Ochinko added a homer and a three RBI.

Broschofsky put LSU in front 1-0 in the second innings with his first double of the season, scoring Nicholas Pontiff, who also doubled.

SOFTBALL TEAM UNABLE TO CLAIM OUTRIGHT SEC CROWN

The fourth-ranked LSU softball team missed a chance to win the outright SEC Championship after losing a series at Georgia.

After splitting a doubleheader on Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs posted a 1-0 victory on Sunday to win the series. LSU did win the SEC West and now plays in the SEC Tournament, which starts Thursday in Auburn. The Lady Tigers, who enter as the tourney’s second seed, takes on South Carolina at 1:30 p.m. With a victory, LSU will play Alabama or Georgia at 5 p.m. on Friday. The championship of the single-elimination tournament is Saturday at noon.

The Lady Tigers enter the tournament with a 49-10 overall record after losing their first conference series of the season.

FORMER LADY TIGERS RETURN TO BATON ROUGE

LSU will host a preseason exhibition WNBA game between the Minnesota Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks at 4 p.m. on Mother’s Day (May 13) in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The game will be a reunion for former LSU greats Seimone Augustus, Temeka Johnson and Doneeka Hodges-Lewis.

Augustus, a two-time NCAA National Player of the Year for the Lady Tigers and a Baton Rouge native, was the top pick of the 2006 WNBA draft by the Lynx and went on to earn WNBA Rookie of the Year honors.

Johnson, LSU’s career assist leader, was a first-round pick in the 2005 WNBA draft and went on the be the 2005 Rookie of the year for the Washington Mystics before being traded to the Sparks prior to the 2006 season. Hodges-Lewis, one of LSU’s most prolific 3-point shooters in LSU history, was a second-round selection by Los Angeles in 2004.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.