Leavitt leads Hogs past Bears
Harold McIlvain II
Issue date: 3/9/09 Section: Sports
The No. 21 Arkansas Razorback baseball team didn't have to battle from behind in a 13-3 win Sunday to take the series over California.
After trailing throughout the series, the Razorbacks scored first for the first time in the series finale.
Senior Chase Leavitt gave Arkansas its first lead since the 10th inning Friday with a two-run single in the fifth, putting Arkansas ahead 3-2.
And the team didn't look back after that. The Razorbacks capped off a season-high eight-run inning with a grand slam by sophomore Brett Eibner in the sixth inning.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said it was the offensive inning the team had looked for all weekend.
"I've been waiting for that," Van Horn said. "It didn't look like it was going to happen. We only had a one run lead. But we worked it and put together a big inning with two outs."
Leavitt finished the weekend series 9-for-12 with two runs, seven RBIs and five walks, increasing his average to .419 for the season.
"Chase just had a great weekend," Van Horn said. "He is a tough out. We wouldn't have had this weekend without him. He got some clutch hits for us."
Senior Andrew Darr added another two runs in the eighth inning with a two-run home run.
Junior Mike Bolsinger recorded the win while pitching 4.1 innings and striking out a career-high eight batters.
On Friday, the Razorbacks picked up where they left off a week ago with another dramatic 10-inning win.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, senior Ben Tschepikow hit a home run to left field to tie the game at 4-4.
Tschepikow said he expected to see a fastball in the situation, and he took it deep for his third of the year.
Arkansas won the game in the bottom of the 10th when Collin Kuhn bunted for a single, scoring freshman James McCann.
"You couldn't have rolled it down there any better," Van Horn said. "They handled it pretty well, but they couldn't get the ball out of the glove and the catcher was too quick with the tag."
After trailing throughout the series, the Razorbacks scored first for the first time in the series finale.
Senior Chase Leavitt gave Arkansas its first lead since the 10th inning Friday with a two-run single in the fifth, putting Arkansas ahead 3-2.
And the team didn't look back after that. The Razorbacks capped off a season-high eight-run inning with a grand slam by sophomore Brett Eibner in the sixth inning.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said it was the offensive inning the team had looked for all weekend.
"I've been waiting for that," Van Horn said. "It didn't look like it was going to happen. We only had a one run lead. But we worked it and put together a big inning with two outs."
Leavitt finished the weekend series 9-for-12 with two runs, seven RBIs and five walks, increasing his average to .419 for the season.
"Chase just had a great weekend," Van Horn said. "He is a tough out. We wouldn't have had this weekend without him. He got some clutch hits for us."
Senior Andrew Darr added another two runs in the eighth inning with a two-run home run.
Junior Mike Bolsinger recorded the win while pitching 4.1 innings and striking out a career-high eight batters.
On Friday, the Razorbacks picked up where they left off a week ago with another dramatic 10-inning win.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, senior Ben Tschepikow hit a home run to left field to tie the game at 4-4.
Tschepikow said he expected to see a fastball in the situation, and he took it deep for his third of the year.
Arkansas won the game in the bottom of the 10th when Collin Kuhn bunted for a single, scoring freshman James McCann.
"You couldn't have rolled it down there any better," Van Horn said. "They handled it pretty well, but they couldn't get the ball out of the glove and the catcher was too quick with the tag."
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