How Oklahoma Can Rebound After Slow Hitting Night in CWS Finals Loss to UNC

The Sooners logged only four knocks in their loss to the Tar Heels, and they must have a better approach in Game 3 to win the national championship.

Oklahoma infielder Deiten Lachance sits in the dugout before Game 2 of the College World Series Finals against North Carolina. | Carson Field / Sooners On SI

OMAHA, NE — The Sooners were due for a slow day at the plate.

Oklahoma hit 28 home runs in its first 11 games at the NCAA Tournament. In Game 1 of the CWS Finals against No. 5 North Carolina, the Sooners logged 14 hits en route to winning 9-3.

But in Game 2, the Sooners couldn’t get into the same offensive groove. Oklahoma mustered only four hits as it lost 6-2 to the Tar Heels.

“(North Carolina) got the momentum, and they never gave it back,” OU coach Skip Johnson said. “We faced two really good pitchers, and hats off to those guys.”

As Johnson said, the Tar Heels’ pitchers were outstanding — but the Sooners did some damage against UNC starter Ryan Lynch early.

OU plated two runs in the first inning off of two hits, and it appeared that the Sooners were on their way to another big offensive day.

But after that shaky first frame, Lynch settled in. He surrendered only one more base knock and didn’t allow another run before UNC’s staff pulled him — due to an apparent injury — in the fifth inning.

After that, reliever Caden Glauber was just as dominant. A freshman, Glauber pitched the final four innings for the Tar Heels, keeping the Sooners scoreless and allowing only one hit in the process.

OU infielder Jaxon Willits was particularly complementary of Glauber, who consistently kept the Sooners off balance.

“He was attacking, getting ahead early,” Willits said. “I feel like when you're ahead 0-1, 0-2, you kind of have your full arsenal at your disposal, and he was able to just kind of get guys swinging at his pitches because he was ahead in the count so much.”

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Oklahoma’s batters went 4-for-30 at the plate in Game 2. The Sooners batted .111 (1-for-9) with two outs, .100 (1-for-10) with runners on and .200 (1-for-5) with runners in scoring position.

Though Johnson said the Sooners played "resilient” in the loss, he believes that they played too up-tight.

“I thought our kids tried really hard. And when you try in baseball, you fail,” Johnson said. “You get out of your game plan because you're trying to get a hit, you're trying to change the scoreboard.”

Glauber threw 65 pitches in his relief outing. But it’s still possible — perhaps likely — that the Tar Heels trot him out again in Monday’s winner-take-all Game 3. Glauber boasts a 2.05 ERA, and considering the stakes on Monday, UNC will likely give him a chance again in spite of fatigue.

Another arm that OU’s batters may face is Walker McDuffie, who allowed one run in 2 ⅓ innings in Game 1. McDuffie is 9-3 with a 3.28 ERA.

While Glauber and McDuffie are exceptional pitchers, the Sooners now have experience against both of them. Johnson thinks it’s imperative for OU’s hitters to play loose when they potentially face them again.

“You've got to go pitch to pitch and separate balls from strikes and get the pitches that you can hit and not miss them — easier said than done for an amateur baseball player,” Johnson said. “There are things that will happen, instead of just staying in your routine and making sure your routine is your lifeline.”