Oklahoma (35-20) is back in the postseason for the fourth time in as many years and is the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional.
The Sooners won two games at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama a week ago, taking down postseason teams Kentucky and Georgia before falling to eventual tournament champion and No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt on Thursday.
OU is led by its pitching staff, specifically junior right-hander Kyson Witherspoon, who went 10-3 with a 2.47 earned run average this season. The projected first-round pick also leads the SEC in innings pitched, ERA and is fourth in strikeouts with 120.
The lineup has been shaky at times this year, but the return of junior infielder Dayton Tockey following a fractured ankle and the hot play of sophomore infielder Jaxon Willits could provide a spark.
“I’m excited moving forward because now we’re 0-0 again,” head coach Skip Johnson said Monday. “We finished our season, started in the conference tournament, and I think our conference tournament prepares us for Omaha because it’s almost identical to the things that happen in Omaha.”
OU will face third-seeded Nebraska (32-27) in the opening round of the regional at 4 p.m. Friday on ESPN+.
Here’s who the Sooners are matched up with in the Chapel Hill Regional:
North Carolina (42-12)
The Tar Heels won the ACC Tournament after defeating No. 11 seed Clemson 14-4 in the title game Sunday.
UNC is the No. 5 overall seed this season and is led by a dominant pitching staff. Graduate right-hander Jake Knapp went 10-0 in conference play with a 1.96 earned run average. Sophomore right-hander Jason DeCaro and senior right-hander Aidan Haugh fill out the rest of the rotation, and both had ERAs under four this year.
The offense boasted four players with a batting average of .300 or higher during conference play and ranked 10th in the ACC in hits and fifth in home runs.
Nebraska (32-27)
The Cornhuskers won four consecutive games to win the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha a week ago to steal a bid in the tournament.
Nebraska is a team that didn’t do much in the regular season with a 15-15 conference record, but managed to sneak in the field of 64 after getting hot at the right time.
As an offense, they rank in the bottom half of the Big Ten among batting average, home runs and RBIs.
The pitching staff had a 2.19 earned run average in the conference tournament and was tied for second in the conference with 3.6 walks per nine innings during conference play.
“He’s obviously done a really good job there at Oklahoma,” Nebraska head coach Will Bolt said about Johnson on Monday. “I know we’re gonna face a really good pitcher and a really good pitching staff.”
Holy Cross (31-25)
Holy Cross won the Patriot League Tournament after walking off Army in the championship game.
Senior first baseman Chris Baillargeon leads the way offensively for the Crusaders, hitting .386 with a 1.025 OPS during the regular season. The team led the Patriot League with a .286 batting average.
The pitching staff boasted a 5.95 earned run average in the regular season but led the conference with a 4.59 ERA during conference play.
This story was edited by Parker Coyne.
