Oklahoma One Win Away From CWS After Stomping No. 15 Kansas in Game 1 of Super Regionals

The Sooners got half of the job done on Saturday.

Oklahoma defeated No. 15 Kansas 8-1 in Game 1 of the Super Regional series between the Sooners and the Jayhawks. OU can clinch its first College World Series appearance since 2022 with a win over KU on Sunday.

The Sooners controlled the game at the plate, on the mound and in the field.

Almost all of OU’s offense came in the middle of the contest.

Outfielder Dasan Harris scored the game’s first run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning. And one at-bat later, infielder Dayton Tockey blasted a three-run home run to left-center field to make it a 4-0 game.

The Sooners were able to separate themselves even further from the Jayhawks in the fifth.

Infielder Camden Johnson hit a two-run home run to give OU a 6-0 lead. And later that inning, Trey Gambill blasted a solo shot to center field.

OU got one more insurance run in the seventh, when Brendan Brock singled and drove Deiten Lachance across to score.

The Sooners combined for 11 hits as a team. Eight of the nine batters in OU’s starting lineup registered at least one base hit.

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On the mound, freshman Cord Rager controlled the Jayhawks throughout his six innings.

Rager gave up only one hit, and it came in the first inning. The left-handed pitcher struck out six Jayhawks and allowed only four baserunners during his outing.

LJ Mercurius pitched the rest of the game for the Sooners. He allowed Kansas to score its only run on a solo homer in the eighth. Mercurius allowed the one run on three hits in three innings.

Oklahoma’s Game 1 win follows its heroics at the Atlanta Regional last week. After losing to Georgia Tech in the 1-0 game, the Sooners won three games in a row — against The Citadel and twice against the Yellow Jackets — to advance to the Super Regionals.

OU improved to 37-22 overall with the win. The Sooners are 5-1 in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Their recent success is a total flip from how they performed in the weeks preceding the tourney, as OU lost four series in a row to end the regular season and dropped its SEC Tournament opener to LSU.

Kansas dropped to 45-17 after losing Game 1. The Jayhawks won both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles and defeated Arkansas, Missouri State and Northeastern in their home regional last week. Dominic Voegele collected the loss for KU, as he surrendered seven runs — three earned — on seven hits and a walk.

The second game of the Super Regional series will begin at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

If the Sooners win Game 2, they will go to Omaha. If they lose, they’ll be forced to play a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday, with first pitch time to be determined.

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