Oklahoma Hammers Georgia to Return to College World Series Finals

OMAHA, NE — Freshman pitcher shutting down maybe the nation’s most potent lineup? Check.

Home runs by the record-setting handful? Check.

Otherworldly defensive genius with the leather? Check.

Oklahoma’s unlikely run at the College World Series continued on Wednesday night at Charles Schwab Field as the Sooners emphatically eliminated No. 3 national seed Georgia 11-4.

OU (41-22) hit five home runs, got another startlingly precocious performance on the hill and layered in plenty of fabulous defense to shut down the Bulldogs (53-14) and advance to the CWS Championship Series for the second time in a five-year stretch.

Oklahoma will play North Carolina (53-12-1) in a best-of-3 series starting Saturday.

OU won its eighth game in a row — and barely gave the crowd of 24,446 time to catch their breath before another Sooner smacked a ball over the fence.

In their last meeting — Monday’s second-round game — the Sooners got stellar pitching from freshman starter Xander Mercurius, home runs from Jaxon Willits and Brendan Brock, three elite defensive plays on the infield and a tense save from Jackson Cleveland in a 4-3 Sooner victory.

Georgia came into that game on a nine-game winning streak. They’ll leave Omaha with a two-game losing streak to the Sooners.

In OU’s first-round CWS win last Saturday, freshmen Cord Rager was the star as he shut down Alabama. Watching Rager and Mercurius dominate on this stage at a young age gave Wednesday's starter, fellow freshman Nick Wesloski, confidence he could do the same thing.

"Being able to watch them go throughout their process on the mound has honestly made me a better pitcher, because they're freshman," Wesloski said. "They make me think I can do it too. Going out there, these guys look like they're unbeatable, they're unstoppable."

Wesloski was up to the challenge despite his lack of starting experience this season.

Wesloski’s only other start on the college level was two weeks ago in the Atlanta Regional against The Citadel, when he threw 105 pitches over seven innings and gave up five runs on six hits and a pair of walks — and picked up his first collegiate win. That game also started OU's current winning streak, which has now reached eight in a row.

Before that, he was one of several spot relievers in coach Skip Johnson’s bullpen.

"You're just trying to build him up," Johnson said. "And he faced a team in Citadel, they had all older guys and they were really good players. It was a really good baseball team. And he pitched extremely well there.

"And I didn't think the moment would bother him that much."

Johnson, as he has been all postseason, was dead-on right. When the red-hot OU hitters staked him to a four-run lead early, Wesloski was able to relax, settle in and find the strike zone without much trouble.

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Jason Walk enjoyed his first career two-home run game, Dasan Harris had his second, and Trey Gambill homered as well, his 11th. Walk and Harris both had hit just four home runs all season, but they lived beyond the wall against Georgia’s pitching.

"It means everything," said Harris, who finished 2-for-5 with five RBIs. "I mean, I thank my coaches and my teammates for always believing in me. I mean, I've dreamed of this moment since I was a little kid, and coming here was part of that and being able to be put in those spots."

Walk’s solo shot to straightaway center gave Oklahoma a 1-0 lead in the top of the third.

The Sooners then flashed their blue ribbon defense in the bottom of the third.

First baseman Dayton Tockey knocked down a hot shot by leadoff hitter Tre Phelps, and as Tockey stooped to gather the ball, Wesloski shouted, “You got time!” Tockey coolly picked up the ball and tossed to Wesloski covering the bag for the second out.

The next play might be one that goes into Sooner lore, however.

Hot-hitting Georgia slugger Daniel Jackson crushed a pitch just inside the chalk line over third base, but Camden Johnson ranged over, left his feet and snagged it on a hop. He whirled and stood up — in foul territory — and uncorked a one-hop laser to Tockey. Tockey was ready, the bottom of his cleat touching the side of the bag, his knees bent, and his glove in position to cradle the ricochet.

"It was a great first step," Skip Johnson said. "You see what kind of athlete he is; he flips back up. And it changed the whole momentum of the inning. It really helped Nick calm down a lot. That was huge. After punching out twice (at the plate) and going out and playing defense, people don't understand. He didn't take his lumber to the leather."

"And it was a great play on the other end to finish it. I told Tockey, and I told Cam, I said, 'That was a hell of a play; way to finish it, Tockey.' "

That ended the inning, piled all the momentum into the OU dugout and set up a Sooner explosion in the fourth.

Gambill hit a 2-1 pitch from Paul Farley into the Georgia bullpen in right field to put Oklahoma up 2-0, and after Brendan Brock singled and advanced on a balk, Harris charged up the crowd even more with some long-ball heroics of his own.

Harris belted his fifth home run of the season deep into the seats in right center field, pushing the OU lead to 4-0.

"I think that (defensive) play (by Cam Johnson at third) kind of switched things mentally for me," Wesloski said. "When I started out the game, I was kind of lackadaisical, I was missing around the zone. And getting to see Cam make that play, and having those runs put up and get up to a four-run lead, I was able to relax a little bit and kind of settle into my mechanics and start pitching more freely."

Georgia’s offense finally found a crack against Wesloski in the fifth inning.

Kolby Branch dropped a bloop double in front of Walk in left-center field, and Ryan Black slapped a single to right to bring home Branch and cut the lead to 4-1.

The Sooners got that run back in the sixth — without even one home run. In fact, they utilized a little small ball to make it 5-1.

Gambill led off with a single up the middle, stole second base and then took third when Brock flied out to deep left-center. Harris then hit a high chopper to second base and nearly beat it, but was thrown out as Gambill scooted home with Oklahoma’s fifth run.

In the bottom of the sixth. Harris turned in a couple of defensive gems in right field: he hustled into the corner to field a hot shot by Brennan Hudson and got it in quickly to keep Hudson at first base. Then he raced back and made a leaping, backhanded catch on the warning track, landing at the base of the wall to rob Kenny Ishikawa.

Wesloski went 5 2/3 innings, struck out four, walked one and hit a batter, and gave up just one earned run and three in all. He threw 90 pitches before giving way to LJ Mercurius with two out in the sixth.

Mercurius had a rocky beginning, though.

Tockey’s error at first base loaded the bases, and Mercurius walked the Bulldogs’ 8- and 9-hole hitters to force in two runs and cut the OU lead to 5-3.

Knowing how lethal the Georgia lineup can be — the Bulldogs lead the nation with 178 home runs and rank in the top four in most other major offensive categories — the buzz OU created had dissipated.

That didn’t last long, however, as Jaxon Willits delivered a huge RBI double in the seventh that scored Kyle Branch to make it 6-3.

Then Harris and Walk hit opposite field home runs in a three-run eighth that built the Sooner lead to 9-3.

"It was actually funny," Walk said, "because when Dasan hit the second one, I was like, 'You're not trying to have a home run battle right now, are you?' And then I ended up hitting one, so I let him hear it a little bit."

That was Oklahoma’s 60th home run in its last 31 games, and set a new school record for home runs in a postseason with 25 (in 10 games; the 2022 team held the previous mark at 22). OU’s season total of 90 is the most by a Sooner squad since 2010, when Sunny Golloway took OU back to the CWS with a team that bashed 105 dingers.

From there, the Sooners’ inevitable victory march didn’t slow down.

In the ninth, LaChance opened with an infield single, Willits added another double into the left field corner, and Gambill sent them both home with a two run double to right field that gave OU an 11-3 lead.

Kolby Branch hit his 20th home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the ninth, then slowed and high-five his little brother Kyle at second base.

"Can't script it up any better," Kolby Branch said. " ... Just, it's a good moment. Got to high-five him and that was kind of cool. Wished him good luck in the national championship."

Oklahoma has been in this situation (sort of) three other times — 1951, 1994 and 2022 — and won two national championships the first two times. (Before 2003, the CWS bracket winners played just one winner-take-all game for the title.)

The ’22 squad, however, dropped two straight to Ole Miss in the finals.

"I don't think anything from 2022 I'd like to do anything different," Johnson said. "I mean, it wasn't the course of anything. I thought we did a great job in '22. Cade Horton was outstanding. You know, I mean you can't go back and look and dwell on the past. You gotta move on. It's just about being in the moment."

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