OU Baseball: Oklahoma Ends Season With Blowout Loss to North Carolina

Skip Johnson and the Oklahoma pitching staff took Sooner baseball as far as they could in 2025.

Pushing No. 5 national seed North Carolina to a winner-take-all game seven on the Tar Heels’ home field on Monday, OU’s journey ended with an 14-4 loss to the host squad at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels continue on to the Super Regional round with a 45-13 record, while Oklahoma’s season ends at 38-22.

Johnson’s pitching plan Monday was always going to be sketchy against the talented Tar Heel lineup after his three primary starters were all tapped out in Chapel Hill action on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Kyson Witherspoon (99 pitches), Malachi Witherspoon (102) and Cade Crossland (107) each saw extended action and were not available. Jaden Barfield (70), who made just his third start of the year, also was unavailable.

Johnson had to dig down into his bullpen for long-term help on Monday, with Reid Hensley making his second start of the season and making it through just 2 1/3 innings and giving up five runs — two earned — with 30 strikes among his 52 total pitches.

Gavyn Jones was reliable out of the bullpen for most of the season, but ran into immediate trouble this time behind Hensley and lasted just one-third of an inning. After UNC’s four-run outburst in the third inning, freshman Dylan Tate needed just one pitch to get out of the mess but stayed on the mound and gave a glimpse at a promising future.

Hensley’s start began just fine, getting two quick outs to open the game, but it went south from there.

Luke Stevenson walked, Gavin Gallaher got first on a throwing error by second baseman Kyle Branch, and Hunter Stokely came through with a massive two-run double to the wall in left-center field that made it 2-0. Alex Madera then added a single to left and Stokely chugged home for a 3-0 lead.

The Sooners got to UNC starter Ryan Lynch for a pair of runs in the second inning.

Dasan Harris singled with one out, and Drew Dickerson crushed a 1-0 offering from Lynch over the wall in right-center field. It was Dickerson’s third home run of the regional and his fifth of the season and cut the Tar Heels’ lead to 3-2.

North Carolina all but put it away with four runs in the third inning, however.

Stevenson got it started off Hensley with a one-out single, and Gallaher followed with a single to center that sent Stevenson to third.

Jones relieved Hensley but walked the dangerous Stokely on four pitches to load the bases. Madera delivered another RBI single to make it 4-2, and Tyson Bass’ fielder’s choice forced Stokely at third but allowed Gallaher to score for a 5-2 lead. Sam Angelo made it 6-2 on a single to right, and Carter French singled up the middle to score Bass for a 7-2 lead.

North Carolina added to its lead in the fourth off Tate.

Jackson Van De Brake singled to lead off, and Tate plunked Stevenson. Van De Brake took third on a fly ball to right, and scored on Stokely’s sacrifice fly to left for an 8-2 lead.

Of Johnson’s seven pitchers on Monday, Tate was by far the most effective, throwing four innings of relief, scattering four hits, striking out five with no walks allowed and giving up just the one run. Tate threw 56 pitches in all, with 34 strikes.

OU got a run back in the bottom of the seventh on Jason Walk’s solo home run to cut it to 8-3.

But the Tar Heels responded with three more runs off four Sooner hurlers in the top of the eighth.

French led off with a single off Jamie Hitt, and after a sac bunt by Kane Kepley, Jackson Kircher took the mound. Van De Brake took Kircher’s second pitch over the left field wall for a two-run home run that made it 10-3. After Kircher struck out Stevenson, Gallaher hit another bomb to left just past the reach of Trey Gambill for an 11-3 lead.

Cameron Johnson came in and loaded the bases with three straight walks, but Beau Sampson finished off the inning by inducing a groundout.

Gallaher continued his nuclear weekend in the ninth inning with a mammoth three-run home run that made it 14-3. In his three games against the Sooners this week, Gallaher was 11-for-16 at the plate with nine RBIs and six runs scored with three doubles and three home runs.

OU added one more run in the bottom of the ninth when Easton Carmichael singled to score Dickerson.