Boomer Sooner rolls into Omaha this weekend for OU’s 10th College World Series appearance in school history. The Sooners last three visits came in the early 1990s: after qualifying in 1992, OU captured a title in 1994 but couldn’t defend it successfully in 1995.
Fifteen years later, the Sooners are back and looking for the school’s third collegiate baseball title. Matt Hofeld from Sooner blog Crimson and Cream Machine took a few minutes to make a case for OU’s national championship chances.
Adam Streur/White & Blue Review
White & Blue Review: You’re waiting in line at Zesto’s outside Rosenblatt and a bunch of locals spot you sporting the crimson and cream. They saunter up and ask you to tell them the most important things to know about this year’s Oklahoma Sooners baseball team. What would you tell them?
Crimson & Cream Machine: They’re a streaky team that plays with a lot of heart. They can either be really hot or really cold and recently they’ve been red hot. They’re a fairly young team with freshmen and first year players stepping up in huge roles left vacant by seniors last year. Finally, coach Sunny Golloway could go ballistic at any moment and get himself tossed. He has a short fuse and isn’t afraid to light it.
WBR: The discussions about conference realignment engulfed OU at precisely the same time the Sooners were trying to advance through the tournament and make it to Omaha. How tuned in to the Sooners baseball team are folks in and around Norman? Should Omaha expect a big OU crowd?
CCM: Unfortunately for the other sports football is the king of the hill at OU. That means that anything that will affect the football program is going to gain the most attention among Sooner Nation. So, yes, a bunch of Oklahoma fans were keeping one eye on the baseball tournament last week with the other on conference realignment. Now that things have pretty much settled down we can go back to being full-time baseball fans again. I’d expect a good showing of OU fans in Omaha.
WBR: Who is the OU player we will hear the most about during this year’s Series?
CCM: Hopefully it’ll be Cody Reine. He had back-to-back two-home run games in the Super Regional and has gone yard five times since the NCAA Tournament began.
WBR: What does this team do best offensively?
CCM: The Sooners do a great job getting runners on the bases and then clearing them with the long ball. They rank 8th nationally in home runs with 100 and have 28 multiple home run games on the season, including three in the NCAA Tournament.
WBR: What about on the mound? Can you break down the pitching staff for us a bit?
CCM: Bobby Shore was the MVP of the Norman regional and followed it up with an eight inning performance against top ranked Virginia in the Super Regional, during which he allowed just four hits and no runs. Shore has a 10-4 record with a 3.86 ERA for the season and has become the ace of Oklahoma’s staff. Behind him, Ryan Gibson is 5-2 with a 3.76 ERA and Zach Neal is 8-3 with a 4.65 ERA. The bullpen is strong as well. Ryan Duke has 11 saves on the season, Jeremy Erben is 7-1 (3.65 ERA/5 saves), Michael Rocha is 7-2 (3.57 ERA), and freshman Jack Mayfield is 5-0 (2.49 ERA).
WBR: The Sooners won a national championship in Omaha in 1994. What has to happen in 2010 for OU to leave Nebraska with another national title?
CCM: Golloway was an assistant coach on both of those teams so hopefully he learned a few things about guiding a team through this tournament. As with most teams in Omaha, Oklahoma can win on either pitching or hitting but in order to take home the national championship the stars will have to align so that they get consistent strong performances both from the mound and behind the plate. Should they continue to play like they did last weekend at Virginia they’ll be a force. However, if they lose any amount of that intensity they’ll be vulnerable.