Oklahoma Baseball lands in Charlottesville Regional, face ECU Friday

Oklahoma baseball makes it back to the NCAA Tournament as they sneak in as an at-large team and will take on the ECU Pirates.

The wait is over. The Oklahoma Sooners baseball team has found its way back into the NCAA Tournament. The journey was never easy and was full of ups and downs, but the Sooners earned an at-large bid after selections were announced on the official selection show Monday. Oklahoma received the next to last at-large bid per the show’s hosts.

Oklahoma (31-26) will play in the Charlottesville regional with the University of Virginia (45-12) as hosts. Their first opponent will be the ECU Pirates (45-17) out of the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates won the regular season crown but fell short in the conference tournament as the Tulane Green Wave, who finished second to last in the conference, pulled off an incredible run to win the tournament title. ECU’s failure in the tournament effectively pushed ECU out of potentially hosting a regional.

Oklahoma’s inclusion into the field was in real doubt as of Friday night. The Sooners were at No. 40 in the NCAA’s RPI after bowing out of the Big 12 tourney.

With no overly impressive resume, Oklahoma needed serious help. They were only 11-13 in conference play and made no run in the conference tournament. One positive Oklahoma had going forward, which undoubtedly played a large role in its selection, was their strength of schedule.

Let’s goooooo! @OU_Baseball # Sooners @NCAABaseball Tournament appearance. Congratulations men!! pic.twitter.com/PfyPZyutN8

— Joe Castiglione (@soonerad) May 29, 2023

While Oklahoma struggled, they also played a grinding schedule that battle-tested them. For a team that lost a significant number of key players from the 2022 run, earning a postseason berth should be commended.

It remains to be seen if they can replicate the magic of getting all the way to the championship series like they did last year, but getting in is the first step.

The fourth and final team in the region is Army West Point (38-16). If the Sooners make it out of the regional, they would take on the winner of the Conway regional hosted by Coastal Carolina, which features Duke, UNC Wilmington, and Rider.

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Tigers leave no doubt in 9-0 victory over Seahawks

Following a heartbreaking loss in the ACC Championship last weekend, Clemson came into Friday’s game leaving absolutely no doubt versus the visiting UNC Wilmington Seahawks. The Tigers shot ahead early on in the first, scoring six runs on five hits, highlighted by Alia Logoleo’s two-run homer to left and two costly errors by the Seahawks, good for the eventual 9-0 shutout victory.

Lefthander Millie Thompson earned the win in the circle for the Tigers, throwing a no-hitter and complete game in her 14th win of the season. Seahawks starter Emily Winstead tallied the loss for UNC Wilmington.

After a clutch 1-2-3 inning for Clemson’s starter Thompson in the top of the first, the Tigers came out big. With a back-to-back single and RBI double from Cammy Pereira and McKenzie Clark respectively, Aby Vieira singled down the right-field line to score Clark and double the score 2-0. Directly following, Logoleo sent a ball to deep left field for her 15th homer of the year, scoring Clark and extending the lead to 4-0. Later on in the inning, the Tigers scored two more runs off of two errors, giving Clemson the 6-0 lead after one.

Following a scoreless second inning, the Tigers struck yet again in the third. With runners on second and third and one out, Pereira grounded out to short, but scored outfielder Sam Russ in the process. Clark followed suit soon after with an RBI double to center to score Maddie Moore from third to stretch the lead to 8-0 through three innings.

Clemson extended their lead once again in the fourth. With a runner on third and one out, Logoleo grounded out to SS, scoring pinch runner Carlee Shannon. The Tigers led 9-0 after four.

The Tigers were able to get the job done in just five innings of work, run-ruling the Seahawks and earning the 9-0 win on Friday.

Clemson takes the field once again on Saturday, May 21, and will face the winner of game two, either Louisiana or Auburn, in game three. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson.

Scouting the Clemson Regional: UNC Wilmington

Clemson’s softball team is set to host its first-ever NCAA Tournament regional, which will include three other teams. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will advance to a super regional. So what does the Tigers’ competition look like? …

Clemson’s softball team is set to host its first-ever NCAA Tournament regional, which will include three other teams.

The winner of the double-elimination tournament will advance to a super regional. So what does the Tigers’ competition look like?

The Clemson Insider is taking a look at the rest of the regional field before the games start Friday at McWhorter Stadium. Clemson, the regional’s top seed, will take on No. 4 seed UNC Wilmington at noon followed by a matchup between No. 2 seed Auburn and No. 3 seed Louisiana.

TCI has already broken down Auburn and Louisiana. An interactive tournament bracket can be found here.

UNC Wilmington

Coach: Kristy Norton (10th season at UNCW and overall)

Record: 32-13 (11-8 Colonial Athletic Association)

Most recent postseason appearance: N/A

The skinny: Making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, UNC Wilmington is new to all of this. The Seahawks finished fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association during the regular season before making a surprise run to the first CAA tournament title in program history. After going 3-0 last week, Wilmington is now tied for the third-most wins in a single season in program history and brings a four-game winning streak into regional play. The Seahawks, an aggressive team with nearly twice as many stolen bases (110) as the CAA’s next-closest team (Elon, 65), have already played two games against ACC competition this season, falling to North Carolina and North Carolina State by a combined three runs. Friday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between Wilmington and Clemson.

Names to know: Janel Gamache (team-high .357 average, 20 extra-base hits, seven HRs), Tayler Vitola (.333, 26 stolen bases), Anna Knox (20 stolen bases), Emily Winstead (1.66 earned run average in 26 appearances, .162 opponents’ batting average)

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