Friday, June 7, 2013

Oklahoma at 4 LSU NCAA Super Regional Game 1 Preview




Tonight at 6pm on ESPN, the Oklahoma Sooners (43-19, 13-11 Big 12) take on the 4 seeded LSU Tigers (55-9, 23-7 SEC) in an NCAA Super Regional at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This is a best-of-3 series for a trip to Omaha, Nebraska for the NCAA College World Series. Game 1 will be tonight, Game 2 tomorrow night, and, if necessary, Game 3 on Monday night. Oklahoma punched their ticket to their third Super Regional appearance in four years by winning the Blacksburg Regional last weekend at Virginia Tech. The Sooners defeated Coastal Carolina, Connecticut, and Virginia Tech to claim the title. Junior Jonathan Gray will take the hill for the Sooners in this one. He has a record of 10-2 with an ERA of 1.59. He ranks second in the country with 138 strikeouts, and is one of 10 finalists for the National Pitcher of the Year. First baseman Matt Oberste is the team's top hitter with a batting average of .376. He also leads the team in home runs with 11 and RBI's with 60. LSU earned the right to advance to the Supers by winning their regional which was at Alex Box Stadium. They beat Jackson State, Sam Houston State, and Louisiana Lafayette to capture the regional championship. Aaron Nola, the ace for the Tigers, will be on the mound for LSU tonight. He has a perfect record of 11-0 and a team-leading ERA of 1.82. Alex Bregman is the team-leader in batting average, batting at a .385 clip. Mason Katz, the main power source for the Tigers, has 15 home runs, best on the team. He also leads the team with 68 RBI's. This should be a great game, but look for the Tigers at home to pull one step closer to Omaha with a win in Game 1.