The Tigers began the past weekend tied for last place in the Southeastern Conference Western Division, but after sweeping the No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks, the Tigers (29-13, 10-8 SEC) inched their way into second place — two games back from leader Alabama.
The weekend-climb in standings was filled with many fireworks including a winning homerun Friday night by senior Nick Stavinoha, two complete games for pitchers Clay Dirks and Greg Smith, and seven homeruns on the weekend.
More sparks came from junior first baseman Will Harris in Saturday’s game when Harris was ejected from the ballgame after getting into an argument with Arkansas’ catcher. Harris engaged in an argument after striking out, but the Tigers needed only a small amount of effort from the offense thanks to sophomore Clay Dirks’ three-hit shutout performance which contributed to the 8-0 LSU victory.
Dirks’ performance consisted of only 124 pitches and a career high eight strikeouts. The win improved his record to 8-1 on the season.
Key pitching performances continued into game three when junior left-hander Greg Smith (6-2) completed a full game giving up only eight hits with no runs leading the Tigers to a 6-0 victory.
With the second shutout of the weekend, the Tiger defense has not allowed a run in 23.1 innings.
On offense Patterson made up for lost time, firing three homeruns on the weekend — his first since the beginning of April in Alabama.
No. 12 LSU did not begin the weekend with the same amount of breathing room that it ended the series with. Game one started off rocky for the Tigers, which found itself down 7-1 early in the game. After three homeruns and three Arkansas errors, the Tigers took advantage of the situation and tied the game 7-7 in the sixth. Senior Ryan Patterson accounted for two of the homeruns with junior Quinn Stewart adding the third of the game and his second homer of the season.
With two outs and two men on, Stavinoha answered with a three-run shot over the leftfield wall. The homer sealed the victory for the Tigers 10-7.
The only LSU starter this weekend to not record a win was senior Lane Mestepey. Mestepey gave up six runs before being relieved by Jordan Faircloth and Jason Determann. The two relievers held the ‘Backs scoreless with Determann earning the win.
The Tigers will spend the next week without a mid-week game, but will return to SEC action against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., next weekend.