Oklahoma Uses Massive Inning as Knockout Blow in CWS Finals Win vs. UNC

The Sooners scored four runs in the fourth inning of Saturday's game, and that helped them pull away from the Tar Heels.

Oklahoma Sooners third baseman Camden Johnson (9) hits a single against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first inning at Charles Schwab Field. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

OMAHA, NE — For the first time at the College World Series, Oklahoma had to play from behind the 8-ball.

After scoring two runs in the top of the first, the Sooners allowed North Carolina to score three in the bottom of the frame. OU had yet to trail while in Omaha, so this early deficit tested the Sooners’ resolve.

Oklahoma more than passed the test.

The Sooners tied it in the third inning before scoring four runs in the fourth to break the game open. This propelled OU to a 9-3 win over UNC, giving it a 1-0 lead in the CWS championship series.

Early on, catcher Deiten Lachance was responsible for almost all of Oklahoma’s offense. LaChance drove in both of OU’s runs in the first inning on a two-run home run, and he followed that up with a game-tying solo blast in the third.

Shortly after Lachance’s second bomb, everybody else got involved — and that allowed the Sooners to pull away.

OU put runners on second and third with one out in the top of the fourth, thanks to a walk from Brendan Brock and a double from Dasan Harris. Infielder Dayton Tockey then struck out, and the Sooners were in danger of letting their threat go to waste.

But Kyle Branch didn’t let that happen. The second baseman singled up the middle to score both Brock and Harris.

And Branch’s two-RBI hit started an Oklahoma rally.

Branch stole second base before taking third on an error. Jason Walk then got Branch across on a single.

Walk also logged a stolen base to get into scoring position. And Camden Johnson came up with another timely hit for OU, singling to get Walk in for the fourth run of the inning.

Lachance flew out as North Carolina finally got out of the inning. But the combination of his early homers and his teammates’ timely knocks in the fourth essentially put the game out of reach.

“Just pass the baton — that's a big thing for us,” Lachance said.

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Most impressive about the Sooners’ big inning? It came against one of college baseball’s most reliable starting pitchers.

UNC’s Jason DeCaro entered Saturday’s game with a 2.31 ERA and an 11-2 record. But all of OU’s damage in the first four innings came against him.

The Sooners knew that it would be challenging to face an arm like DeCaro — but they more than proved that they were up for the challenge.

“We had a good scouting report on him, and we knew what he had to do with him,” Lachance said. “We knew it was not going to be easy, but the guys did well. They made a good adjustment at the plate, and it helped us get in the groove.”

Now, the Sooners are just one win away from their first national championship since 1994. Oklahoma and North Carolina will square off in Game 2 of the championship series on Sunday.

And after Saturday’s fourth-inning onslaught, the Sooners are confident that they can string together more timely hits as they try to clinch their title.

“The guys are just trying to make a job for the team,” Lachance said. “It doesn't matter how we do it — if it's a bunt, hitting a ball far into the outfield, we've just gotta move the runner and bring him home. The guys have just executed really well, no matter what the count is.”