Last Friday night against South Carolina, Arkansas threw away two double-play balls leading to a 9-3 deficit but recovered on pinchhitter Jacob House’s game-ending grand slam to win 12-11.

On Saturday the Gamecocks threw away a double play in Arkansas’ 4-run seventh and never recovered as the Razorbacks won 6-3 the second of this three-game SEC series at Baum Stadium.

The series concludes at noon today with Arkansas (30-20 ), now 12-13 in the SEC West and only the Thursday through Saturday series at Mississippi State remaining, just one-half game out of eighth-place behind South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama and Ole Miss, all 13-13, in the 12-team league’s overall standings.

Only the top eight teams advance to the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

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“ I told our guys, ‘ just keep doing what you’re doing and don’t worry about the standings, ’ ” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “‘ If you keep winning and playing hard, it’ll all take care of itself. ’ I’m proud of the way Mike Bolsinger [out earlier in the season with an injury ] has bounced back. He showed courage on the mound. ”

Nationally 17 th-ranked South Carolina, a shoo-in for NCAA Regionals, could have some work to do to insure an SEC Tourney trip when the Gamecocks host Tennessee Thursday through Saturday in Columbia.

Reese Havens, USC’s incomparable shortstop whose seventh-inning home run off Bolsinger gave Carolina a 3-2 lead, committed the seventh-inning throwing error that turned an apparent inning-closer of a 3-3 game into the defeat, wasting a superb pitching effort by losing Carolina starter Nick Godwin.

On Friday night it was Logan Forsythe, Arkansas ’ incomparable third baseman and hitting hero, 4 for 4 Friday with two home runs and a double, and 2 for 4 Saturday including a RBI single in the fourth and singling to start Saturday’s fourrun seventh, whose throwing error turned a potential inning-ending double play into Carolina’s five-run fifth.

“ It’s kind of how the game works, especially in the SEC, ” Forsythe said after Saturday’s game. “ Everybody is going to make an error no matter how good you are. It’s a matter of when you do it and if you can recover from it. Luckily we were able to hold them off today. ”

Godwin, five three-upthree-down innings other than a 2-run fourth, until the seventh, got the short straw on a fine effort.

“ It certainly hurt us, ” South Carolina coach Ray Tanner said of the errant throw on the would-be double play. “ That double-play ball would have kept the game at one right there. Nick Godwin pitched a great game for us. We just weren’t able to push across enough runs for us. He gave us a chance to win today. But that 4-run seventh really did us in. ”

So did Bolsinger, relieving Arkansas starter Cliff Springston in the sixth and scattering two singles after Havens’ homer, and timely if not prolific Arkansas hitting.

“ Bolsinger did a nice job in relief, ” Tanner said. “ We had double digits [11 ] in hits but only three runs. Arkansas only got seven hits but they came up with some very key hits. ”

Van Horn concurred.

“ We took advantage of some of their mistakes and we made the plays we needed to make, ” Van Horn said.

Arkansas played errorless defense with some runstopping plays by shortstop Tim Smalling, first baseman Andy Wilkins and right fielder Chase Leavitt.

Leavitt’s leadoff walk in the fourth followed by Ben Tschepikow’s single, Forsythe’s RBI single and Casey Coon grounding into a double play scoring Coon created a 2-1 lead.

USC netted RBI singles off Springston by Andrew Crisp in the fourth and Phil Disher in the sixth before Havens ’ homer held the brief 3-2 lead.

Tim Smalling’s one-out single had scored Forsythe in the seventh and advanced Andy Wilkins to third when Havens threw it away trying to complete a forceout double play.

The error scored Smalling and was eventually followed Sean Jones’ RBI looping single that glanced off second baseman Scott Wingo’s outstretched glove and Fayetteville’s Ben Tschepikow beating out a RBI nubber single to third.