Congrats to LSU for winning CWS, but let’s not overlook what ORU did

Let me congratulate the Louisiana State University Tigers for winning their seventh College World Series on Monday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.

The Tigers routed Florida in Game 3 by a score of 18-4 just 24 hours after the Gators bit the Tigers even worse with a Game 2 historic romp victory by the score of 24-4. Florida’s 24 runs were the most scored in any CWS game in history.

It looked like the championship series would likely go three games just because of how closely matched these teams were. LSU took the opener 4-3 in 11 innings, but I doubt any one could foresee that the final two games would be major romps — one by each team.

However, the 2023 CWS Championship Final Series did bring out the fact that while Atlantic Coast Conference school Wake Forest entered No. 1, when the dust settled it was two Southeastern Conference teams that went at it for college baseball supremacy. Although Arkansas and Vanderbilt were among a handful of SEC teams that did not get out of their regional, Tennessee made the CWS. Perhaps in 2023, the college baseball conference of the season was indeed the SEC.

However, I do want to bring up something about the state of Oklahoma’s lone CWS participant, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

I think a lot of we diehard Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys fans forget that “The Sooner State” has two other Division I colleges within its borders — ORU and Tulsa.

I have to feel that the entire state was pulling for ORU as it was carrying the state’s postseason torch, not only in Omaha at the CWS, but in the Super Regional in Eugene, Ore., after the Golden Eagles went through the Stillwater Regional, eliminating the host Cowboys — not to mention the Sooners did not get out of the Charlottesville (Va.) Regional.

I personally have no problems cheering on our state teams. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t go to any of the four of them for my college education as I accomplished getting my Bachelor’s of Science degree in communications from Phillips University in Enid in May 1989.

For the record, if some of you are wondering where Phillips University was, not is, located, it’s in Enid. In 1999, the PU Board of Trustees bankrupted the Christian Church/Disciples of Christ institution (whose sister school was Texas Christian University). Soon after, Northern Oklahoma College, Tonkawa’s junior college, bought the campus and it became NOC-Enid, whose teams play Carl Albert State College, Connors State, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Redlands and, yes, NOC-Tonkawa.

In fact, last weekend, I went to my hometown of Enid for the 2023 Phillips University Alumni and Friends Association Reunion for all classes of PU graduates, faculty and supporters. It was a good time, and I saw six fellow students who were there in part or all of my PU tenure as a student — August 1984-May 1989.

Sorry, folks, I didn’t mean to digress about my PU days. I just bring it up because I think that helped me form my philosophy about believe there’s only one state team for which to root. Obviously, in my humble opinion, ORU’s baseball team did an outstanding job representing the state, and the Golden Eagles should be commended.

• Sad news was reported Tuesday night with the report that former Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett drowned in Florida.

He had a stellar career in Fayetteville, but his stint in the National Football League was a short one.

He was coaching football at White Hall upon his drowning.

As the report said, he touched a lot of lives and will be missed.

• We also need to keep NASCAR racer Jimmie Johnson in your prayers as his in-laws Jack and Terry Janway along with their grandson Dalton Janway, were found dead in their home in Muskogee from an apparent murder-suicide.

Johnson will not participate in this weekend’s race.

Prayers go out to Johnson and his family at this time of loss.

David Seeley is the sports editor for the Sequoyah County Times. He can be reached by telephone at 918-775-4433 or by e-mail at davids@cookson.news.