Oklahoma Hasn't Used Backups Yet at CWS, But They're Ready to 'Go Out There and Help'

COLUMN

OMAHA, NE — It’s common in the postseason, in just about any sport, for regular-season lineups to tighten up.

Bench rotations get smaller. Substitutions are more infrequent. Coaches are less likely to experiment. Backups or reserves might get a shorter leash, if they get one at all.

For example, the two teams fighting this weekend for a national championship at the College World Series have not dipped into the bench or the bullpen much at all.

On one side, North Carolina has used just 17 players to beat Ole Miss and West Virginia twice.

“I’ve told them over and over,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said, “to do something that's special, to win a national championship, somebody does something that hasn't done maybe a lot ‘on paper’ the whole season. So I have a feeling that’s going to happen.”

The Tar Heels have been efficient with their personnel. But Oklahoma has taken it to another level.

In its three games at Charles Schwab Field so far, victories over Alabama and Georgia twice, OU has deployed just nine field players and five pitchers — 14 players total.

No backups, no pinch-hitters, no pinch-runners, no situational bullpen guys. Nine field players, three starting pitchers, two long relievers.

Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson hasn’t even altered the batting order — not once.

Forbes probably isn’t wrong. Someone is going to have to emerge from a lesser role to do something unexpected.

“I think that's the beauty of the game of baseball is we have no idea. You have no idea,” said OU shortstop Jaxon Willits. “It's just one day somebody is going to get in to put into pinch run they're going to have to go steal a base or somebody's going to get put in for defense, they're going to have to go make a diving play that nobody expected. They haven't played in two or three weeks, and they're going to have to go out there and help the team win in one of the biggest spots in college baseball.”

OU is in the College World Series national championship series because the Sooners have stuck with what’s been working in the field and at the plate, and on the mound.

That doesn’t mean the backups can’t contribute this weekend. Like Forbes said, if the Sooners or Tar Heels are going to win a national title, it’s entirely likely that, in OU's case, someone line Drew Dickerson or Alec Blair or Nolan Stevens could step in at the plate or on defense.

Out of the bullpen, guys like Nate Smithburg, Trent Collier, Gavyn Jones, Jason Bodin, Michael Catalano and Mason Bixby have plenty of experience.

“It’s so unexpected,” said OU designated hitter Trey Gambill. “The beauty of our team is we trust every one of our guys, whether somebody goes down for an injury — God forbid, right? But if somebody goes down for an injury or maybe a pitcher doesn't have it that day, I trust everybody that's going to come out of the that pen. I trust everybody that's on our bench to come in and contribute.”

“I think it's pretty cool,” Johnson said. “That's the adversity that we went through. There's a lot of guys that had to pitch. There's a lot of guys that had to play. There's some guys that were hurt. There were some guys that we had different lineups as we went through it.

“I think that's really the cool thing about it. Everybody is important in that room.”

Dickerson has appeared in 35 games with 22 starts, and he’s batting .281 with four home runs and 21 RBIs. Blair has played in 30 games with 24 starts and is batting .247 with two homers and 18 RBIs. Stevens has played in 30 games with 25 starts and is batting .230 with five home runs and 11 RBIs.

Smithburg, a left-hander, has thrown 17 2/3 innings in 18 appearances and is 2-0 with a 3.06 earned run average. Collier, another lefty, has 24 innings over 18 appearances and is 2-0 with a 3.06 ERA. Jones, another southpaw, has thrown 24 1/3 innings over 231 appearances and is 1-0 with a 5.18 ERA. Bodin (5-1, 5.45) has 25 appearances and 34 2/3 innings. Bixby (2-0, 7.31) has 16 innings and 16 appearances.

Catalano (3-4, 7.02) has 11 appearances (eight midweek starts) and 33 1/3 innings — including a start in the second win over Georgia Tech at the Atlanta Regional.

“A lot of times when you get in these pressure situations, they give you too much effort. They try too hard. When you try hard in this game you fail. But if they can just be themselves, one pitch at a time, take a breath, throw the ball to the target — because that's the only thing you can control.

“Everybody, they've had experience. They've been on the field. They've had an at-bat. They've had to come in with men on. They've had to throw a breaking ball. Whatever it may be, they've experienced it in some form or fashion.

Johnson applauded his players’ readiness and professionalism even when they’re not getting to play.

“It's uncommon — at every level,” Johnson said. “I mean, from Little League all the way up. When their kid's not playing, all they hear is the negative energy.

“These guys really have been selfless.”

Like Willits, Johnson said he's confident that whoever he calls on this weekend will rise to the occasion like he's done previously this season, and they'll receive the encouragement from their teammates.

“They're pulling for those guys, the first guy on the rope, whether it's Drew Dickerson or Alec Blair or somebody like that that played early and hasn't played in a while," Johnson said. "Some of the pitchers, yesterday, coming out of the bullpen, I saw Gavyn Jones. I said be ready, man. Bodin, be ready. He goes, ‘I’ll be ready; I'll give you everything I got.’

“The only thing you can ask them to do is give you effort. They can't be somebody they're not. They can just give us effort. If it's good that day, then it's good that day. Really proud of our kids for their dugout doing that.”

“And I think they're ready for it. We'll throw them out there and see. If they're not ready for it, they're not ready for it. The sun is going to come up tomorrow. It doesn't matter, hopefully — unless Jesus Christ decides to come.”

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