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Published May 09, 2008 12:54 am - As little as two weeks ago, Oklahoma talked confidently about what it had to do to get into the NCAA Tournament. But with two Big 12 Conference series remaining, college baseball’s Big Dance is no longer a major topic. Under pressure on diamond By John Shinn The Norman Transcript As little as two weeks ago, Oklahoma talked confidently about what it had to do to get into the NCAA Tournament. But with two Big 12 Conference series remaining, college baseball’s Big Dance is no longer a major topic.
Just reaching the Big 12 tournament is the priority, yet hardly certain. “It’s tough to think that we’re in this situation, but that’s baseball,” OU designated hitter Mike Gosse said. “Every team faces things like this. We just have to fight our way through.” The Sooners are in a position they’ve rarely been. In the 12-year history of the Big 12 Conference, they’ve never finished worse than eighth. Along with Texas, Oklahoma State and Baylor, OU is one of four programs never to miss the conference tournament. But getting swept last weekend at Kansas dropped the Sooners (29-20-1, 6-14-1 Big 12) to ninth place in the conference, a full game behind Kansas State (23-25, 7-14) for the tourney’s last spot. What does OU need to do to ensure a spot when the tournament begins May 21 in Oklahoma City? One thing’s certain. It must take this weekend’s series against Kansas State. Anything less than winning two of three would pound a major nail into the coffin. When the teams meet at 7 tonight at L. Dale Mitchell Park, OU coach Sunny Golloway believes it, along with the remaining games in the regular season, should be treated as do-or-die propositions. “I want everybody thinking it is like an elimination game the rest of the way,” he said. “Everybody is eligible out of the bullpen. I want everybody to understand how important these games are.” Because as gloomy as the Sooner situation seems, playing well this weekend and against Oklahoma State May 16-18 would solve a lot of problems. History says the Sooners aren’t dead quite yet. Since the Big 12 became a 10-team baseball league in 2002 and teams started playing a 27-game conference schedule, the eighth-place team has averaged 10.16 wins in conference. The high-water mark was 2002 when Texas A&M went 13-14 and finished in eighth place. But Kansas reached the Big 12 tournament with nine wins in 2003 and Texas Tech did it with nine in 2005 and 2006. Three more wins would put OU at nine. That might be enough to get to Oklahoma City. Winning the next two series would put the Sooners at 10 or better. If they could somehow win five games down the stretch, legitimate talk of reaching the NCAA Tournament would be revived. 
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