With NFL Draft just completed, the way-too-early 2022 guesses are out and HawgBeat’s Nikki Chavanelle said Treylon Burks on the lists.
Hogs win first-ever SEC title downing LSU in second game
BATON ROUGE, La. — For the first time in school history, Arkansas has an SEC Championship after beating LSU, 4-1, in the second game of a doubleheader Monday night in Baton Rouge, La.
The victory split the double dip with the Tigers taking the first game, 2-1.
Arkansas wraps up the regular season an incredible 40-8 and 19-5 in the SEC.
The Razorbacks have clinched at least a share of the SEC crown and now await Florida’s series on the final weekend of the regular season next week.
The Gators host Texas A&M and must win all three games against the Aggies to pull even with the Hogs and share the title.
Arkansas becomes the first school outside of Alabama and Florida to win the SEC regular season since 2007.
Game 2: Arkansas 4, LSU 1
The Razorbacks scored a single run in the top of the first inning for the second straight game and took advantage of free baserunners.
Hannah McEwen led off slicing a single to left and Braxton Burnside was hit by a pitch, allowing infielder Hannah Gammill to sacrifice both runners into scoring position.
A passed ball allowed McEwen to score, giving Arkansas a 1-0 lead with two outs and two strikes in the inning.
Arkansas turned to the long ball, grabbing a 3-0 lead in the third on back-to-back homers from designated player Linnie Malkin and catcher Kayla Green. They were the first two Hog homers of the series and brought the team’s season total to 89.
LSU scratched a run in the bottom of the fourth inning on three hits to chase Arkansas starter Autumn Storms and put the tying run aboard.
Summoned from the bullpen after starting the first game of the doubleheader, Mary Haff entered and struck out Shelbi Sunseri to strand a pair of Tigers and end the LSU threat.
An Ally Manzo RBI-double in the fifth chased home Green and immediately pushed the Arkansas lead back to three runs.
Haff took it from there, sealing the victory with zeroes in the fifth and sixth followed by a perfect seventh with a pair of strikeouts putting an exclamation point on the victory.
Green led the way offensively for Arkansas with two hits and two runs scored while Haff picked up her 23rd win of the season.
Maribeth Gorsuch took the loss for LSU, allowing one run on one hit with a walk in 1.2 innings.
Game 1: LSU 2, Arkansas 1
Arkansas quickly loaded the bases in the first inning with nobody out on McEwen’s single through the right side and walks drawn by Burnside and Gammill.
Infielder Danielle Gibson lifted a deep sacrifice fly to centerfield, picking up her SEC-leading 51st RBI of the year and scoring McEwen. A 6-4-3 double play ended the only Arkansas scoring inning of the game.
McEwen’s base hit was the 200th of her career making her just one of nine players in program history to reach the mark.
LSU quickly responded in the bottom half shooting a two-out single to center, tying the game.
After loading the bases on a hit by pitch, walk and bunt hit, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second on a groundout, which was the game’s final run.
Arkansas was held to a single hit, its season low. Infielder Keely Huffine was the only other Razorback baserunner after the first inning, drawing a walk in the second frame.
Haff (22-5) gave the Hogs a quality start, throwing 6.0 innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
She retired her final 10 batters faced and 14 of the last 15. LSU starter Ali Kilponen (13-6) allowed one earned run on one hit and three walks with three strikeouts over 7.0 innings and retired 16 consecutive Razorbacks to end the game.
LSU outhit Arkansas 4-1, and neither team had a baserunner in the last four innings. The Hogs conference-only road winning streak of 10 games was halted and matches the fourth-longest in league history.
Arkansas was one-hit for the first time since March 10, 2018 against then-No. 11 Georgia.
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Franklin named SEC’s top player for last week after big series
Frank the Tank.
Christian Franklin was named the SEC Player of the Week on Monday after powering the top-ranked Razorbacks to a series win against LSU in Baton Rouge for the first time since 2004.
The outfielder, who slashed .545/.571/1.000 for the weekend, drove in a team-leading 10 runs to help Arkansas secure its program-record seventh consecutive SEC series win.
Franklin had at least one hit and RBI in all three games of the series, including two multi-hit and two multi-RBI performances. He tallied two hits and five RBI in Friday’s series opener, slugging a three-run homer — his 10th of the year — in the Hogs’ 7-0 win.
He began Saturday’s doubleheader with a three-hit, four-RBI effort in the Razorbacks’ 17-10 victory before tacking on another RBI in the nightcap to conclude his weekend.
Franklin also dazzled defensively, throwing out a runner at third from right center in the first game of the series.
Six Hogs have now earned weekly honors from the conference this season. Franklin joins pitcher Caleb Bolden (Co-Pitcher of the Week, Feb. 23), catcher Casey Opitz (Co-Player of the Week, March 22), designated hitter Matt Goodheart (Player of the Week, March 29), outfielder Cayden Wallace (Co-Freshman of the Week, April 12 and 19) and reliever Kevin Kopps (Co-Pitcher of the Week, April 26) as Arkansas’ recipients.
Franklin and the Razorbacks get back to work this weekend in the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium, hosting Georgia for a three-game conference series.
The action begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday on SEC Network+.
Musselman brings former Nevada assistant to Hogs’ staff
Gus Argenal, who worked two seasons at Nevada for Razorback head coach Eric Musselman, will rejoin his mentor as an assistant coach at Arkansas.
Overall, Argenal brings 17 years of collegiate coaching experience.
“I have known Gus and his strong reputation in the basketball community for many years,” Musselman said. “He was a big part of our success at Nevada. He already knows our philosophy and terminology and has a great relationship with our staff so he will fit in immediately.
“Our players will enjoy his passion, his energy and his coaching style. Gus additionally has head coaching experience which was important to me. I know he will be a positive influence in our program and be a great representative for the University.”
Argenal comes to Fayetteville after serving two seasons as associate head coach at Cal State Fullerton.
“The opportunity to join Coach Musselman’s staff at the University of Arkansas is a dream come true,” Argenal said. “In two short years, Coach Muss has taken the program to a championship level and I look to help him continue that trajectory.
“The combination of recruiting elite student-athletes, being supported by an amazing fan base, and competing in the renowned Bud Walton Arena make Fayetteville an unparalleled place.
“My wife, our two sons and I cannot wait to be a part of the northwest Arkansas community.”
This past season (2020-21), Fullerton ranked 11th in the NCAA and led the Big West in 3-point field goal percentage (.384) and guard Tray Maddox Jr., was tabbed second team All-Big West.
In his first year with the program (2019-20), the Titans had their season cut short due to COVID-19.
However, Argenal helped Jackson Rowe and Brandon Kamga claim second team All-Big West honors while Kamga was also named Big West Newcomer of the Year.
Argenal joined the Titans after spending the 2017-18 season as an assistant coach and the 2018-19 season as the associate head coach at Nevada.
The Wolf Pack went to the NCAA Tournament both years, including the Sweet 16 in his first season, and won the Mountain West Championship both years as well.
They also won 29 games in each season, tying the school record.
Argenal spent four seasons (2013-17) as the head coach of the Cal State East Bay Pioneers, an NCAA Division II school, and posted a 35-76 record.
Prior to being named the head coach at Cal State East Bay he was an assistant coach during the 2012-13 season at Rice.
He spent the 2011-12 year at UC Davis as an assistant coach after a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Chico State (2008-11). From 2006-08 he was the director of operations at UT San Antonio.
His first stint as an assistant coach at UCD came in 2005-06 after working as a graduate assistant at Arizona State in 2004-05.
Argenal was a point guard who played at UC Davis and still holds the Aggies single-game record with 13 assists.
His senior season he topped the Aggies in assists and steals and helped the 2003-04 team post an 18-9 record. He received his undergraduate degree in history from UCD in 2004 and earned a master’s degree in education from Arizona State in 2005.
As a prep athlete, Argenal was a three-year starter at De La Salle High School (Concord, Calif.) under legendary head coach Frank Allocco.
As a senior and team captain in 1999, he led the Spartans to the Northern California regional finals and was named BVAL Most Valuable Player.
He is married to former UC Davis women’s basketball standout, the former Hannah Turner. The couple has two boys, Bo and Ace. Argenal is a second-generation American as his grandparents on his father’s side were born in Nicaragua.
ARGENAL FILE:
• Hometown: Concord, Calif. (De La Salle HS)
• Alma Mater: UC Davis, 2004 (Master’s: Arizona State, 2005)
• Wife: the former Hannah Turner
• Children: Sons Bo and Ace.
COACHING EXPERIENCE:
• 2004-05: Arizona State (Graduate Assistant Coach)
• 2005-06-: UC Davis (Assistant Coach)
• 2006-08: UT Arlington (Director of Basketball Operations)
• 2008-11: Chico State (Assistant Coach)
• 2011-12: UC Davis (Assistant Coach)
• 2012-13: Rice (Assistant Coach)
• 2013-17: Cal State East Bay (Head Coach)
• 2017-18: Nevada (Assistant Coach)
• 2018-19: Nevada (Associate Head Coach)
• 2019-21: Cal State Fullerton (Associate Head Coach)
• 2021-pres.: Arkansas (Assistant Coach)
Murphy on Hogs winning another series, but pitching questions still
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