I'm really sorry that I'm late on the preview, but I couldn't get the wireless internet to work at my house last night.

Hopefully some of you still get something out of this before this morning's game.

Washington State beat Wichita State 3-2 yesterday to stay alive in the NCAA Tournament (click here for a game story). The Cougars now get Oklahoma (the regional's top seed and the 9th ranked team in the country) in an elimination game. The Sooners lost to Arkansas yesterday, 17-6. Whoever wins the early game faces the Razorbacks tonight for a trip to Super Regionals.

Wazzu's starting pitching has been amazing through the first two games. Matt Way and Chad Arnold allowed only nine hits, three runs (only two earned), while striking out 20 over a combined 13 1/3 innings. The Cougars will likely turn to David Stilley today against Oklahoma. Stilley has been very inconsistent so far this season, going 3-2 with a 4.47 ERA. The only problem is...he's been terrible lately. Stilley has allowed 13 runs (only ten earned) on 13 hits over 5 2/3 innings in his last three starts. Oklahoma isn't the easiest team to bounce back against.

The Sooners will probably pitch Garret Richards against the Cougs. He's also been very inconsistent this season as well. He's 8-4 with a 6.55 ERA, but he does strike a lot of guys out (75 K's over 66 innings). Richards started against WSU earlier this year (the two teams split a four-game series), allowing three runs on three hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four batters, but he also walked six in a 12-3 Oklahoma victory.

The Sooners are currently 41-18 overall. They finished 17-10 in the Big 12 Conference, good enough for a second place finish behind Texas (the top seed in the NCAA Tournament). They haven't played their best baseball recently. Dating back to the Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma has lost three of its last four games.

Every game in the earlier series (played in late February) was high scoring and I expect a similar result again today. The deeper both teams get in their rotation...the weaker the pitchers get (as the numbers showed above). Plus, Oklahoma's offense is potent (to say the least). To stay in the game, the Cougars will have to keep or set the pace.

The Sooners hit .320 as a team, they score 8.2 runs per game (502 runs in 61 games...compared to the Cougars who have scored 347 runs in 56 games), and they've hit a combined 89 home runs this season. Oklahoma's leading hitter is T.J. Wise. He's hitting .361 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI. In fact, the Sooners have four other starters who hit .300+ (Garrett Buechele (.358), Bryant Hernandez (.357), Jamie Johnson (.356), and Casey Johnson (.313)) and three other starters with double-digit home runs (Hernandez (11), Jamie Johnson (13), and Aaron Baker (14)). In the four previous games against WSU, Oklahoma scored 29 runs (the Cougars scored 29 runs as well).

I know I've already said it, but I think it's important to say it again. The Cougars offense will need to set or keep the pace to stay in this game with Oklahoma (just like the first series). Both teams (not just Washington State) are much improved since their first series this season. As far as I can tell, there will not be a pitchers' duel today...it's going to be a battle of who can outlast the other team offensively in the end (knowing my luck it will be a 1-0 final and I'll look like an idiot).

First pitch is slated for 11am. Again, the winner faces Arkansas (at 5:30pm) for a trip to the Super Regionals.

Just as we've had in the first two games, we will have highlights for you tonight on KREM 2 News at 5, 6, 10, and 11. If you missed them, here are the highlights from the Cougs first regional games:

WSU v. Arkansas
WSU v. Wichita State

I also want to remind you again that you can follow KREM 2 Sports on Twitter.

Follow KREM 2 Sports on Twitter

NOTE: I've been giving score updates on their first Washington State's first two games, but I can today because I'm playing golf at the Chewelah Golf and Country Club (yes, I do have a life outside of work).

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