As an OU student, I love following our athletic teams and right now, there’s no better time to be a Sooner sports fan. The OU softball ladies just won the national championship for the second year in a row, and OU baseball has cruised through the postseason and is one win away from playing in the national championship series for the first time since 1994.
The gymnastics team won its national title this year. Women’s tennis and men’s gymnastics fell just short in their national championship competitions, claiming runner-up titles. OU football has a dynamic, energetic new head coach in Brent Venables and fans are awaiting the season with an anticipation that was unheard of in the Lincoln Riley era.
Excluding the 2020 Covid season, the Sooners have won at least one national champion ship every year since 2013. Things are looking good in 2022 with two national championships already claimed and baseball on the brink. Here’s what you need to know about the next national championship hopefuls, the 2022 OU baseball team:
The team is 44-22 (.667 pct) on the season, not an eye-catching record, and not a record you would expect from the hottest team in the College World Series. They had some bad losses this season, 4-14 against Arizona, 3-15 against UCLA, 1-10 against Dallas Baptist and a whopping 0-18 against Wichita State in May. But the Sooners found their footing at the right time and in the postseason, they have outscored their opponents 99-59. They have crushed bigtime opponents like #9 Texas to win the Big 12 championship, #4 Virginia Tech in a best of three super regional, and #5 Texas A&M in their first game at the College World Series.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Cade Horton has pitched lights out in the postseason, including an 8 strikeout performance against Texas in the Big 12 championship and 11 strikeouts against Notre Dame at the College World Series on June 19 to march ever closer to the national championship series.
The Sooner bat has stayed hot during the postseason. Redshirt sophomore Peyton Graham and redshirt senior Tanner Tredaway are leading the Sooner offense. The two have combined for 27 runs and 31 RBIs in 13 postseason games, and Graham has added two grand slams.
I love cheering on my Sooners, and I love it even more when we add some national championships to OU’s 41 piece collection! Assuming the baseball team beats Texas A&M in the semifinal game on Wednesday, June 22, tune in to the College World Series Championship on June 24, 25 and 26 to watch my Sooner baseball team compete for its third baseball national championship and third school national championship in 2022!
