Carver, Bigham enter 2nd CWS

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas shortstop Tim Carver and second baseman Bo Bigham have endured plenty of up-and-down moments during their senior seasons.

Carver is enjoying the best offensive year of his career (.305, 30 RBIs), but has experienced his share of adventures in the field (22 errors). Bigham has been solid defensively (.950 fielding percentage), but has struggled at the plate (.265, 18 RBIs) and even served a stint on the bench because of the struggles.

No matter what happened during the regular season, the veterans were proud of something Wednesday.

“Tim and I were joking about it earlier,” Bigham said. “We decided to show up when it counted.”

The middle infielders played a pivotal role in Arkansas’ run to the College World Series, where the Razorbacks (44-20) will play Kent State (46-18) in Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Park at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The heart of the defense came up big at critical times in the Waco Super Regional, saving runs that helped the Razorbacks win twice and advance to Omaha after falling into an early hole against Baylor.

Carver and Bigham first teamed to turn a difficult double play in the eighth inning of Sunday’s game. It helped Arkansas work its way out of a bases loaded jam in a game the Razorbacks eventually won 5-4.

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said the play gave his team new life in the late innings, helping them stave off elimination with a ninth-inning rally.

“We felt like when we turned that double play we were going to win the game,” Van Horn said. “We were still in it. We were only down one. That was a key double play with two seniors that have been there before.”

Bigham helped keep the deciding game of the super regional scoreless in the fifth inning the next night, diving to his left to snag a ground ball that nearly slipped through the infield. He hopped to his feet and made the throw to first base for the final out, surviving another bases loaded scare in a 1-0 win.

“We’ve had our ups and downs this year and through our career,” Bigham said. “But just the fact that we’re leaders and we’re the older guys, we’ve been through this situation before. We knew we had to step our game up to help us get to where we are.”

It now allows both seniors — who have started a combined 382 games — to end their careers in Omaha. It’s the second trip for both, who were also members of the Razorbacks’ 2009 College World Series team.

Bigham started and played every game in Omaha that season. Carver came off the bench and was pressed into duty when Ben Tschepikow was injured in the third game. The two said they’ll never forget the experience and are looking forward to one final trip now.

“I started my career going to Omaha and it’s awesome to be able to finish it there,” Carver said. “We started it at Rosenblatt (Stadium) and now we get to go to the new field. … There’s not a whole lot of people who can say they’ve done that.”

Something else to consider: they’re now among just 15 Arkansas players who have been members of two CWS teams. The list includes former Hogs Bubba Carpenter, Troy Eklund and Mike Oquist (1987 and 1989).

Van Horn said both players — who went undrafted last summer as juniors — deserve the recognition. He knows they’re a big reason the Razorbacks have returned.

“We didn’t know if we were going to have either one of those guys back last year,” Van Horn said. “We thought they’ll probably get drafted middle, late rounds and a lot of times the juniors will go ahead and take it because they can make a little bit of money. All of a sudden, there they are last summer. They’re coming back. So now we could plan around it a little bit. We knew that experience would be huge.”

Their job is to lead a team of College World Series rookies. They’re the only members of the 2009 team still with the Razorbacks, giving them an edge on what to expect during a busy few days.

They’ll hold down important roles on the field, too, after starting every NCAA Tournament game to date. Carver will continued to lead off with Bigham in the bottom half of the order. Their most important job comes defensively with Arkansas trying to continue their steady play after a shaky start this postseason.

The Razorbacks allowed four unearned runs in its Houston Regional opener against Sam Houston State thanks to fifth-inning errors by Carver and Bigham.

Arkansas has committed two errors in five games since. Carver and Bigham weren’t responsible.

“We looked at each other and said it’s not going to happen again,” Bigham said about the first-game mistakes. “We’re mature enough that we can handle that. We just went from there and we told each other we’re going to bear down and we’re going to make plays and we’re going to help the team get to Omaha.”

It’s an attitude appreciated by teammates. Reliever Brandon Moore said he’s amazed the two have been working together for four years and “wouldn’t trade them for anybody.” Van Horn said both are fearless.

“They want the ball hit to them with the game on the line,” he said. “That’s what you’ve got to have.”

Carver will move on to pro baseball after the CWS after being drafted in the 19th round by the Philadelphia Phillies. Bigham, meanwhile, may be playing for the final time after going undrafted.

The Texarkana native is hoping to work his way into minor league baseball if possible when the season ends, but understands the road could be ending.

But Bigham also is determined not to let it end quickly the next few days. He and Carver “are not done yet” as they try to lead Arkansas to a championship.

“We’re not going to be just happy to be there,” Bigham said. “We’re going to try to go win it. I think the whole team feels that way. Tim and I are going to preach that and make sure everybody plays for that.”