Tigers Not Looking Past Oral Roberts

CLEMSON – It’s very possible that the two hottest teams in the country will square off this weekend in the NCAA Baseball Tournament Super Regional in Clemson. Oral Roberts has won 31 of its last 34 games, while the Tigers have won 22 of their last 23.

The Golden Eagles (41-14) won the Fayetteville, Ark., Regional last weekend as a No. 3 seed by upending No. 2 Arkansas and No. 1 Oklahoma State. Clemson (50-14), meanwhile, swept through its regional by taking care of No. 2 Elon and No. 3 Mississippi State.

“The thing that I know is that they’re hot,” Tigers coach Jack Leggett said Wednesday. “They pitched and hit their way through a regional with some tough teams in it.”

Oral Roberts, which is based out of Tulsa, Okla., has mostly relied on its offense. The Golden Eagles have three players with at least 10 homers, while all nine starters hit .310 or higher.

The best of the bunch is junior catcher Andy Bouchie, who is batting .377, with 12 home runs and 53 RBI. He was selected in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday.

“It’s going to be a challenge for our pitching staff,” Leggett said. “It’s going to be one of those things where they come in here with nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Oral Roberts isn’t one of those schools where not much is widely known it. It plays in small conference, the Mid-Continent, and is more famous for its founder rather than its athletic prowess.

However, like a CIA agent, Leggett has garnered a bevy of information about the baseball team.

“We’ve done our homework,” he said. “We’ve got the information. Now, we just have to execute the plan and execute the plan the way we play.”