If you had told college baseball fans that they would be getting an Oklahoma vs. Kansas Super Regional, most of them would not have believed you one bit. The Sooners shocked the college baseball world when they took down the No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech with back-to-back victories to claim the regional championship and get to this point.
But Oklahoma can't think it will just walk into Hoglund Ballpark and take the Super Regional from the Jayhawks. Kansas took down Arkansas, Missouri State and Northeastern in the Lawrence Regional. Under head coach Dan Fitzgerald, this Jayhawk program has undergone a complete program revival with two of the best seasons in program history over the last two years.
It is going to be an extremely tough challenge for Skip Johnson's team as they face off against a former Big 12 foe who won the regular-season title and conference tournament.
Read more: Oklahoma is clearly must-see TV with Super Regional times announced
Here are some of the players for Kansas who could play spoiler for the Sooners' magical run.
Tyson Leblanc
Tyson Leblanc is arguably the best player on this Kansas team and he, a lot like some of the other top players on this roster, rose to this level after spending some time at a junior college. Leblanc spent the first two seasons of his college career at LSU Eunice, where he rewrote the record books in his time there. He was a third-team JUCO All-American and he has brought that level of play to Lawrence. He leads the team with a .344 batting average while hitting 24 home runs and having 68 RBI.
Leblanc is the straw that stirs the drink for the Jayhawk offense and they will need him to have a big weekend if they are going to beat the Sooners.
Mason Cook
A lot like Leblanc with the offense, Mason Cook is among the leaders of this Kansas pitching staff. The sophomore right-hander holds a 5-1 record on the year and has a 4.23 ERA in 17 appearances. Cook is in his first season as a Jayhawk after spending his freshman season at McLennan CC (TX). His last appearance came last weekend against Arkansas when he pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up two runs on three hits in their 5-3 victory over the Razorbacks.
The Sooners will see Cook on the mound in Game 2 on Sunday.
Jordan Bach
The final player who could be an X-factor that Sooner fans need to watch out for is outfielder Jordan Bach. Bach is on his fourth school after spending time at Saint Xavier University, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and the last two seasons at Southern Illinois. He doesn't lead the team in a lot of the statistical categories, but he is just a consistent, all-around great player. He is among the leaders in a majority of the offensive stats and does a great job of patrolling the outfield, as well. He isn't going to blow you away, but he is the type of consistent player who we see come up big in the clutch moments time after time.
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