Oklahoma Finds Rhythm to Beat The Citadel in First Game of Atlanta Regional

The Sooners didn't have much offense early in their game against the Bulldogs, but their bats finally started churning and carried them to a Game 1 win.

Oklahoma outfielder Trey Gambill runs to first base against Gonzaga. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Sooners comfortably avoided an 0-1 start at the Atlanta Regional.

Oklahoma defeated The Citadel 8-3 in both teams’ NCAA Tournament openers. The squads were supposed to battle on Friday evening, but inclement weather pushed the game to Saturday.

It took a while for OU’s bats to get going, but in the game’s middle innings, the Sooners found an offensive rhythm.

Infielder Dayton Tockey hit a solo shot in the third inning to tie the game at 1-1. The Citadel (35-25) scored two runs to take the lead back in the top of the fourth — but the Sooners had an answer for that, too.

Oklahoma (33-21) logged four hits in the bottom of the fourth inning and scored three runs off of those knocks. One of those was a two-run home run to deep center field off the bat of Trey Gambill.

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OU also got some insurance off some miscues from the Bulldogs later in the game. The Citadel’s third baseman fielded a routine ground ball in 

By the end of the middle innings, Oklahoma pulled away, The Citadel’s third baseman fielded a routine ground ball in the bottom of the sixth, but he didn’t take notice of the situation and was only able to get the out at third. The Sooners scored again off a Jason Walk RBI single before The Citadel was able to record the third out.

Citadel relief pitchers Andrew Buffkin and CJ Van Slooten threw a combined four walks in the bottom of the seventh, and the Sooners scored two more runs as a result, adding much-needed insurance to their lead.

The Sooners got one more on the board in the eighth, as Jaxon Willits drove in Walk on a sacrifice fly.

Cord Rager, who usually started in season finales during the regular season, earned the win for Oklahoma. He pitched for six innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits.

LJ Mercurius helped the Sooners keep their lead late in the game. He pitched three innings and gave up zero runs on two hits and one walk.

After scoring three runs in the first four innings, The Citadel didn't score again over the final five frames.

Oklahoma has a quick turnaround, as the Sooners will battle Georgia Tech — the No. 1 seed from the Atlanta Regional and the tourney’s No. 2 overall seed — on Saturday evening. First pitch of that winner’s bracket game is scheduled for 5 p.m.

The Citadel will take on Illinois-Chicago in an elimination game before the winner’s bracket game. The Flames lost 22-5 to Georgia Tech in the regional’s first game on Friday.