Tuscaloosa Regional Preview: Get to Know the Teams in Oklahoma State’s NCAA Regional

For the 13th straight season, the Cowboys are NCAA Regional bound.

Oklahoma State earned the 2 seed in the Tuscaloosa Regional, it was announced Monday. The Cowboys will open the tournament against USC-Upstate at 1 p.m. Friday, with those two teams joining Alabama and Alabama State in the Regional.

Let’s get to know the Regional participants.

Alabama

Record: 37-19
Conference (SEC) Regular Season Finish: 4
Team Batting Average: .253
Team ERA: 4.28

The Crimson Tide went one-and-done at the SEC Tournament, but they enter this Regional having not lost back-to-back games since April 24. Since, Alabama has swept Vanderbilt and South Carolina before taking two of three off Ole Miss.

Alabama has three pitchers (Myles Upchurch, Zane Adams and Tyler Fay) who have thrown at least 64 innings this season and all have an ERA of 4.70 or better.

Neal Brady leads the way at the dish, hitting a team-best .328 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs.

Oklahoma State

Record: 37-20
Conference (Big 12) Regular Season Finish: 5
Team Batting Average: .280
Team ERA: 6.24

Battling through various injuries around the diamond throughout the year, the Cowboys have been coming into their own of late. They’ve won 13 of their past 17 entering this regional.

The Cowboys clobber baseballs, entering the NCAA Tournament second nationally in home runs with 137. Kollin Ritchie is the star man in that aspect with 29 homers on the year, which puts him third nationally.

OSU leadoff man Alex Conover has also had a fantastic year, entering the Regional hitting a team-best .383 with 14 homers and 36 RBIs.

The Cowboys’ pitching staff has had its ups and downs this season — with some of that being the fault of the aforementioned injuries. How that group can piece together a weekend will be big for the Cowboys’ hopes of advancing to Supers.

USC-Upstate

Record: 33-28
Conference (Big South) Regular Season Finish: 5
Team Batting Average: .291
Team ERA: 5.89

Upstate finished fifth in the Big South but went on the win the conference tournament, shutting out top-seeded High Point in that process.

The Spartans have played some good teams close — even going so far to beat Clemson 6-3 earlier this month. They also have a 7-2 loss to Clemson on their resume along with a 4-2 loss to Tennessee, three losses to Texas and a loss to Georgia.

Driving in runs has been a group effort for Upstate this season, with five players have at least 50 RBIs.

Henry Zenor leads the squad with a .346 batting average to go along with eight homers and 51 RBIs. Wylie Waters and Johnny Sweeney are tied for the team lead with a dozen home runs apiece.

Alabama State

Record: 34-21
Conference (SWAC) Regular Season Finish: 4
Team Batting Average: .281
Team ERA: 6.05

The Hornets enter this tournament on an eight-game winning streak with their last loss coming on May 9.

Finishing 20-10 in SWAC play earned Alabama State the 4 seed in the conference tournament, where the Hornets went on a run of four straight wins to book a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Alabama State has played host Alabama twice this season, losing 2-1 in February and 13-4 in March.

Miguel Oropeza leads the way for the squad at the plate. Having started all 55 of Alabama State’s games this season, Oropeza is hitting .366 with 78 hits, 19 doubles, 11 homers and 65 RBIs.