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Although its comeback fell short in the finale, Arkansas is still returning home with just its second ever series win at LSU.

The Razorbacks clinched the series with an easy 17-10 win Saturday afternoon and then scored three runs in the ninth inning of the nightcap, but stranded the potential tying run on base in a 5-4 loss to the Tigers at Alex Box Stadium.

A sweep in 2004 is the only other time Arkansas has won a series in 15 trips to Baton Rouge, La., but missing out on another sweep the way it did put a damper on the accomplishment.

“I thought it was a good weekend,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “If we didn’t have to play that second game and ended losing by a run, I’d probably be in a little better mood…but it was a good weekend. Good for us to come down here and win the series and move on to the next one.”

More importantly, the doubleheader split - coupled with Vanderbilt’s loss to Florida on Saturday - ensured the Razorbacks will still at least be tied for the overall SEC lead with three weeks remaining in the regular season. They will have sole possession of first place if the Commodores lose to the Gators on Sunday.

Unlike Vanderbilt and every other team in the conference, Arkansas has compiled its 15-6 SEC record without losing a single series. It is the first time in school history that the Razorbacks have won each of their first seven SEC series and the first time they’ve won their series against each SEC West foe in the same season.

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve got three All-American pitchers, it’s tough to beat a team two out of three every weekend in this league because everybody’s so talented,” Van Horn said. “Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way or you’re lining out or plays aren’t being made, so I’m proud of the guys. They show up every weekend and they give you a great effort.”

Here is a recap of both Saturday games, as well as a couple of other notes…

Game 1: Arkansas 17, LSU 10

After being no hit through six innings in the series opener, Arkansas didn’t waste any time heating up Saturday.

Facing a starting pitcher in AJ Labas who was coming off arguably the best start of his career a week earlier against Ole Miss, the Razorbacks put up a crooked number in the first inning.

Zack Gregory and Matt Goodheart led off the game with back-to-back singles and eventually scored on Christian Franklin’s two-run single. The first extra-base hit of the day was a two-run triple by Robert Moore and Cullen Smith added an RBI double to make it 5-0.

“When he made a mistake, we hit it,” Van Horn said. “We didn’t foul a lot of pitches off. We hit the ball on the nose and used the whole field. … I think that we jumped him in the first and we didn’t let him up. We just kept punching runs in.”