Bogus Smith Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 SUMMIT LEAGUE Site: Tulsa, Okla. Dates: May 22-24. Format: Four teams, double-elimination. The Field: No. 1 Oral Roberts (host), No. 2 Southern Utah, No. 3 Western Illinois, No. 4 Centenary. Who's Hot: Who's always hot in the Summit League? Oral Roberts enters the conference tournament on a nine-game winning streak. The Golden Eagles finished the regular season with a four-game sweep of IPFW to win the regular-season crown by 7 1/2 games. Who's Not: Western Illinois has lost four of its last six, which includes a four-game split at Centenary. Bubble Watch: Bubble Watch: The Mid-Con is a one-bid league unless Oral Roberts gets upset, in which case the Golden Eagles would likely get an at-large bid thanks to a strong RPI (37). The Favorite: The conference may have changed its name from the Mid-Continent Conference to the Summit League, but the story is the same: the league belongs to Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles are huge favorites to win their 11th straight conference championship. The balanced Eagles have a dangerous lineup led by Brian Van Kirk (.411/.502/.722 with 15 homers and 66 RBIs), and a strong pitching staff headlined by Carlos Luna (12-0, 2.88). The Darkhorse: ORU led the Summit in batting and ERA, but Centenary ranked second in both categories, batting .303 and posting a 4.46 ERA. But one area where the Gents are better than the Golden Eagles is speed: they stole 88 bases to ORU's 33. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.