FAYETTEVILLE -- A weekend that began with great promise for the No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks with a win at top-ranked LSU unraveled in a Saturday doubleheader loss that put the team's pitching futures back on the front burner.
The marquee Friday combination of southpaws Hunter Hollan and Hagen Smith did their part in a 9-3 win over the Tigers, snapping LSU's 15-game winning streak at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. But Hollan was obviously done for the weekend after his 87-pitch gem against LSU ace Paul Skenes, and Smith, who threw 80 pitches in 4 2/3 innings, could not participate in Saturday's doubleheader, which could have been 18 innings but was shortened to 16 due to LSU's 12-2 run-rule win in the opener.
Starters Will McEntire and Cody Adcock were tagged for a combined 11 runs on 12 hits and 2 walks in 6 2/3 innings.
Relievers Austin Ledbetter, Zack Morris, Dylan Carter and Gage Wood also struggled to get outs, allowing 12 earned runs on 15 hits and 7 walks in 5 innings.
Freshmen Ben Bybee and Christian Foutch finally calmed the Tigers down on a day when the wind was blowing out and the conditions were ripe for long balls. The two right-handers combined for three shutout innings, preventing the 14-5 nightcap from being a run-rule decision.
Arkansas had a couple of key errors on Saturday night that gave the Tigers five outs during a pivotal six-run fourth inning.