from Tiger Sports Digest's article on Oklahoma: Overall Pitching They will bring a stellar pitching staff with them when they travel to Baton Rouge...The pitching staff is definitely the strong point on this Oklahoma squad and they will definitely make the Sooners a competitive team no matter who they are facing off against. Starting Pitching It has been known for quite some time that the Sooners sport one of the most devastating pitching duos in all of college baseball...Jonathan Gray has been nearly flawless throughout 2013...No. 2 starter Dillon Overton has been equally as impressive as Gray in 2013...Overton isn’t quite the power arm that Gray is, but he gets outs on a consistent basis. He is very crafty on the mound and is well-known for his ability to keep hitters off-balance at the plate. ... Bullpen The Oklahoma bullpen also features yet another excellent arm. Freshman left-hander Jacob Evans stepped right in and contributed in a big way for the Sooners in his first season on campus. Throughout 2013, Evans compiled a record of 7-2 with nine saves in 52 innings of work. He has also allowed just 36 hits while striking out 41. Offense and base running (the Sooners finished #2 in the Big 12 in batting avg). Without a doubt, they are led at the plate by junior first baseman Matt Oberste. The right-handed stick is currently hitting .376 with 11 homeruns and 60 RB...On the base paths, Oklahoma is very aggressive...This will be a very important aspect of the weekend for the Sooners because LSU sports one of the best defensive catchers in the country in junior Ty Ross. If the Sooners can move runners on the base paths, producing runs won’t be a problem for them. Defense They have produced a team fielding percentage of .972 (#1 in the Big 12 was .975). The Sooners have committed 68 errors as a team this season, with 22 of them (32%) coming from shortstop Jack Mayfield. ... Oklahoma has had 14 games this season with 2 or more errors, although the frequency of such games has gone down as each month has passed: June (played 2 games) --none yet-- May (played 15 games) 2 errors -- Coastal Carolina (May 31) 4 errors -- West Virginia (May 5) April (played 17 games) 3 errors -- Texas Tech (Apr 28) 2 errors -- UNO (Apr 21) 2 errors -- Baylor (Apr 14) March (played 21 games) 4 errors -- Kansas (Mar 29) 3 errors -- Oral Roberts (Mar 20) 2 errors -- Southern Cal (Mar 8) 2 errors -- UT Arlington (Mar 5) 2 errors -- Pepperdine (Mar 3) Feb (played 9 games) 4 errors -- Arkansas Pine Bluff (Feb 19) 3 errors -- Hofstra, Game 1 of DH (Feb 16) 3 errors -- Hofstra, Game 2 of DH (Feb 16) 4 errors -- Hoftstra (Feb 15)
The problem is how their starting rotation stacks up against ours. Nola has been the only consistent performer all season long. Eades has been very erratic going back at least a month. Glenn has improved significantly, but who knows where his head and arm are at after sitting out the regionals. But if we can chase at least one of their guys off the field and force them to use the bullpen, then we should be in a good position.
it's interesting. all season long, Oklahoma, Louisville, and Indiana were, by far, the top ranked teams in their conferences. 43 games into the season, OU was rolling. they were 33-10 (76.7%), had only lost one series (to Baylor), then all of a sudden, Oklahoma collapsed. Starting on April 28, Oklahoma went 2-9 (18.2%) over an 11-game span, and that's when they got all those losses that mctiger is pointing out (the three straight series losses to West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, as well as the two mid-week games to Dallas Baptist). now the question is WTF was up with that slump? i'm pretty sure i've read that one of their co-aces (Overton) was injuried and that their biggest offensive superstar (forgot his name) went into a slump. whatever it was, that slump ended when the 2013 OKC Tornado hit just 10 miles north of the OU campus. since then, OU has been undefeated, all while wearing special light-blue shirts underneath their jerseys as a tribute to the people impacted by the storms. The light-blue shirts have the word "home" and the Oklahoma flag logo standing in pace of the letter O in home. and since they started doing that, OU has been on a tear, going undefeated and sweeping thru both the Big 12 Tournament and the Blacksburg Regional. i imagine it's similar to how the 2006 Saints responded to Katrina by having the most successful season in history at that point, with the team reaching the NFC Championship for the first time in franchise history. besides, even if you didn't have all that going on, OU is 43-19 South Carolina is 42-18 UCLA is 42-17 those are really good records, and the only one of those three we played beat us in a huge series in the Box earlier this year
Mainieri on OU's double-headed dragon: "Jonathan Gray is going to go No. 1 in the draft, and a lot of people think he's the best pitcher in the country...Overton has a chance to be a late first-round or sandwich pick (in the draft)," Mainieri said. "He's really good as well. They've probably got what most people would consider the best 1-2 starters in the whole country." "I like our pitching staff a lot, too," Mainieri said. USAToday: Mainieri will roll out his own ace, right-hander Aaron Nola (11-0), in the opener of the best-of-three series Friday (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET). Mainieri: "Nola is going to go Game 1," Mainieri said matter-of-factly. "For us to have our best chance to beat (Gray), we've got to with our best. We're going to line up toe-to-toe and duke it out." "I know this, my guy's 11-0," Mainieri said. "I'm excited. I'm going to have the best seat in the house watching it. It's going to be tremendous. If you love college baseball, you couldn't ask for anything better. You've got the guy who's going to be the top 3 or 4 pick in the draft if not the No. 1 pick on Thursday night. And next year Aaron Nola has a chance to be right up there. He's the SEC pitcher of the year and an All-American. It's going to be exciting." "If Aaron pitches the way he can pitch, it should be a heck of a game," Mainieri said. "I know this: Our guy is 11-0." add how Bonvillian has been great his last two outings vs Vandy and ULL. here's what Mainieri said on who we will throw Game 2 (and potentially Game 3): "I'm just going to say TBA and TBA, and I may say that all the way through Friday night," Mainieri said. "A lot of is going to be (based on) how Cody looks in practice, a lot of it's going to be how Ryan Eades looks in practice, a lot of it's going to be how Brent Bonvillain bounces back from the longest outing of his career."
everybody is raving about NOLA v GRAY: Travis Webb @travisjwebb I've never been this excited for (what will be) a 1-0 ballgame in my life. Nola vs Gray will be fun to watch. Jacob Shaw @shawsome54 I'm pretty excited to see Nola vs Gray, it's gonna be one for the ages Dom Dunn @domonique_ Got my tickets for this weekend. Nola vs. Gray on Friday should be awesome. Pod Katt @valleyshook Nola v Gray in the heavyweight bout of the year RaysnNoles @RodMahoney Nola vs Gray #MUSTWATCH Kendall Rogers @KendallRogersPG Nola vs. Gray = #want ben williams @noflyzone37 Jonathan Gray vs Aaron Nola Friday night at Alex box. arguably the two best pitchers in college baseball squaring off in Baton Rouge #tigahs Cody Worsham @CodyWorsham I really want to see Aaron Nola vs. Jonathan Gray next weekend. Teddy Mitrosilis @TMitrosilis Jonathan Gray vs. Aaron Nola in Alex Box Friday night? That'll work huskers2k13 @huskers2k12 Gray vs Nola, that should be really interesting. Chad Washington @ChadDWashington Looks like #Oklahoma will put Jonathan Gray up against Aaron Nola of #LSU to open the Super Regional on Friday. Great pitching matchup. #CWS Brittany @CajunBrittinAtx Jonathan Gray vs Aaron Nola Friday night!!!!! Ohhhh boyyyy!!! Can't wait!!!! #GeauxTigahhhsss #BeatOklahoma #beaaaaaast #SuperRegional Mike @BorntoBet89 Gray v. Nola should be awesome. Tanner Kuykendall @tannerkuyk Jonathan Gray and Aaron Nola is gonna be so cool to watch Colin Fahrmann @colinfahrmann Nola vs. Gray. 6 p.m., Friday. ESPN. In the Box. OMG!!! #heaven Chirag D. Patel @cdpatel022 3 Jun I get off at 1..you know..giving me plenty of time to make it to the Nola v. Gray show. Trey Mongrue @TreyMongrue Gotta think the thought of an Aaron Nola/Jonathan Gray match-up influenced the prime time position. #LSU Doug Mouton @DMoutonWWL Jonathan Gray vs. Aaron Nola, two marquee schools, and great crowds ... big time atmosphere. Chirag D. Patel @cdpatel022 Gray v. Nola will be a great matchup Kendall Rogers @KendallRogersPG Gray against Nola in that atmosphere is going to be pretty special to say the least. Brian Trahan @SDNBrianTrahan Looking forward to this weekend's Super Regional matchup of Nola vs. Gray. Should be an epic pitching battle. #LSU #NCAABaseball CW @chrismwinkles OU/LSU super regional is going to be a madhouse. Gray v Nola. Wow..Wish I was going to Baton Rouge this weekend. Kevin Shillings @KShillings Nola vs Gray. Wow Jay Laughlin @jaylaughlin Gray vs nola will be a hell of a match up Matthew Harris @MHarrisAdvocate would love to see a Nola-Gray duel on the mound. Cody Wilcoxson @CWilcoxson a Gray/Nola showdown would be must-see TV
The Oklahoman: Word is out, has long been out, on the college baseball mecca that is Alex Box Stadium-Skip Bertman Field, home of the LSU Tigers. The Oklahoma Sooners are en route, not on any sightseeing journey to some holy city of hardball, but to do serious baseball business with the Tigers – for a berth in the College World Series. Those are the stakes this weekend, when OU and LSU meet in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament. “It's going to be awesome,” said OU senior outfielder Max White. “It's a great place to play. I haven't played there, but I've heard a lot about it.” And the Sooners expect to hear it. “I know their fans aren't going to like us very much,” said OU coach Sunny Golloway. “They might even say a few mean things here and there. I know they're going to be strong in numbers. “But I really like it.” ... The 10,150-seat stadium will be overflowing. And loud. ... “It's definitely a place that when you walk in there and play, it can take a little getting used to,” said Oklahoma State coach Josh Holliday, who made trips into Baton Rouge as an assistant at Vanderbilt. ... “Great atmosphere,” he said. “It's passionate...It's loud. It's strong" ... (Randy Rosetta, the veteran LSU beat writer said) “They stay consistently noisy. And they do affect the game. They can rattle a pitcher. Honestly, they can rattle an umpire, make him think about a call.” That's what the Sooners are up against. “We're ready for it,” said OU catcher Anthony Hermelyn. “What kind of player doesn't want to play in front of that? It's extra motivation for sure. It's you against the world out there. We like it that way as baseball players.”
hopefully out bats and our crowd leave the OU two-headed-dragon looking something like this this weekend:
ESPN's preview of the LSU/OU Super: If Fullerton or Chapel Hill isn't the must-see super regional this weekend, perhaps this one is. It...is again headlined by pitching. The Sooners went undefeated in the Blacksburg Regional because, in Jonathan Gray and Dillon Overton, they have two instigators of indigestion for opposing lineups. And when you have two of those, well, you're what we might call the good kind of "sick." The Tigers have their arms, too, but for once have uncertainties swirling around them. Ryan Eades couldn't escape the third inning against Jackson State, his face turning puffy and plum as he labored through 55 pitches and a groaning Alex Box Stadium. Aaron Nola, LSU's ace who has been a relentless machine of heavy sinkers and hard sliders, had little help from his defense in the first inning of Game 2, allowing five runs to Sam Houston State. Cody Glenn, LSU's third starter, was suspended for the regional for violating team rules and reinstated Monday, but coach Paul Mainieri hasn't announced if Glenn will start Game 3 against Oklahoma. Brent Bonvillain, who filled in for Glenn in the regionals, would be the other option here. The fact LSU and Oklahoma both have offenses capable of hammering good pitching separates this series from UCLA-Fullerton. Unlike the West Coast battle, this one could be molded into many forms.
Nice attempt at humor, but why mentally deficient kids? You could have found two pics of people that look stupid by their own volition. Classless.
I apologize. I did it hastly (hence why i didn't add an OU shirt like i did to the other two). The deal with those two pics is that both are common meme pics.I've seen hundreds of times, but thinking about it now, there is another common meme pic of two dumb-looking brothers from like the 1940's that would have been funnier
