Oral Roberts will not have to travel far to play in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
The Golden Eagles head to Stillwater where host Oklahoma State awaits, along with St. John’s and Arkansas to play in one of 16 regional portions of the national tournament.
Coming off a Summit League championship, ORU (41-14) is the No. 3 seed and will face second-seeded Arkansas (35-22) on Friday with first pitch set for noon.
It’s the first trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Golden Eagles since 2012, which is also the last year they faced the Razorbacks. ORU lost that game, 6-1.
But Oral Roberts is a little more familiar with host Oklahoma State, at least recently. ORU and OSU met twice this season, with the Golden Eagles winning at both Tulsa and Stillwater.
For the Cowboys, it’s the second consecutive year to host a regional. OSU advanced to the Super Regional last year, as well.
OSU fell to Texas in the Big 12 Tournament championship game on Sunday. But the Cowboys (37-18) are the top seed in this bracket and will face No. 4 seed St. John’s (39-14) on Friday at 6 p.m.
It will be the first home game for Oklahoma State since May 8, but the Cowboys have won six of eight on the road and in the Big 12 Tournament since that time.
Oklahoma State is trying to get to the College World Series for the first time since 1999. Oral Roberts made its only appearance there in 1978.