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Oklahoma baseball: Breaking down the Gainesville Regional

By Connor Pasby

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 05: David Sandlin #28 of the Oklahoma Sooners hands the ball to Braden Carmichael #27as he leaves in the first inning against the UCLA Bruins during the Shriners Children's College Classic at Minute Maid Park on March 05, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 05: David Sandlin #28 of the Oklahoma Sooners hands the ball to Braden Carmichael #27as he leaves in the first inning against the UCLA Bruins during the Shriners Children's College Classic at Minute Maid Park on March 05, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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The No. 2-seeded Oklahoma baseball Sooners take the field today in the Gainesville Regional that includes the regional host Florida, Oklahoma, Liberty, and Central Michigan.

Despite the dominate Big 12 Tournament run by the Sooners, which included an 8-1 Big 12 Championship victory over the No. 19-ranked Texas Longhorns, the Sooners ended up having to travel to a regional site.

According to ESPN analyst Kyle Peterson, the Gainesville Regional is the toughest regional in the 2022 NCAA Baseball Championship. It features four teams who have been rolling late in the year.

The Florida Gators have won 16 of their last 21 games, while the Sooners are coming off a Big 12 Championship and have won 10 of their last 13 games. The No. 3-seeded Liberty Flames suffered an Atlantic Sun Conference Championship loss to Kennesaw State, while No. 4=seeded Central Michigan also comes in red hot after a MAC Championship win.

Let’s dive into the Gainesville Regional, and what to expect from each team:

Florida

The Florida Gators (39-22, 15-15 SEC) have been a dangerous team late in the year, and finished the season ranked 18. As a program, the Gators have made 12 CWS appearances, including a national championship in 2017.

Florida is eighth in NCAA Division I total home runs and is led by sophomore outfielder Wyatt Langford. Langford is tied for ninth in D1 in home runs with 23. As a pitching staff, the Gators rarely have a bad inning from their pitchers. They are ranked ninth as a team WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched). Despite not being ranked at times throughout the season, Florida has turned it on late and will be a tough out.

Oklahoma

The Sooners (37-20, 15-9 Big 12) are coming off a Big 12 Championship over their archrival Texas Longhorns. Many thought OU would host a regional, after winning 10 of its last 13 games, and capturing a Big 12 Championship. The Big 12 Championship was still being played, while the NCAA was coming out with the hosts for each regional. The Sooners may be playing with some fire in the Gainesville Regional.

It all starts with Shortstop Peyton Graham, who is a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award as the country’s top college shortstop and a candidate for the Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the best amateur baseball player in the nation. Graham has done about everything on the diamond, whether it’s hitting home runs, making plays at shortstop, and stealing bases. The redshirt sophomore is fifth in D1 in stolen bases.

https://twitter.com/Big12Conference/status/1531103323524325376

The Sooners have also been very disciplined at the plate. Redshirt Sophomore Blake Robertson is tied for first in D1 in walks; as a team the Sooners are ranked 8th. Skip Johnson’s crew has been moving baserunners over, forcing walks, and doubling its stolen bases from the previous season. It would be no surprise to see OU make a run in the Gainesville regional, and potentially win it. The bullpen has been much better for Oklahoma, especially in the Big 12 Tournament.

Liberty

The Liberty Flames (37-21, 19-11 ASUN) actually started the season off with a series win over Florida. After losing the first game, the Flames stormed back to take the series in Gainesville. The Flames are another team that has been catching fire at the right time. They are led by infielder Brady Gulakowsi, who has 63 RBI’s, 14 doubles, and 16 homers.

The Flames are dangerous across the whole lineup, and have been one of the sneakier teams so far this season. They also have a lethal weapon in pitcher Joe Adametz III, who has a record of 6-3, 2.47 ERA, 77 strikeouts to 21 walks. It’ll be a great opening regional game between OU and Liberty.

Central Michigan

Surprisingly, the Chippewas (42-17, 30-7 MAC) have the best record in the regional. Central Michigan is very similar to Oklahoma in a lot of ways. They are fifth in D1 in walks, 6th in on-base percentage, and they also steal a lot of bases. The Chippewas’ pitching staff has a total of seven shutouts this season, which ranked fifth nationally.

Central Michigan is riding with momentum after a MAC Championship win over Ball State. The Chippewas are not your average No. 4 seed with 42 wins this season, and they have a pitching staff that has been tremendous all season.

We all expect to see an Oklahoma-Florida matchup the next round, but it will be tough matchups for all four teams. If Oklahoma and Florida meet, it’ll be the first time they’ve played each other in school history. The first game will feature Oklahoma and Liberty at 12 pm CT on ESPN+, followed by Liberty and Florida at 5:30 pm CT on ESPN+.

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