Why Pitching is Oklahoma's Best Route to CWS Success and Baseball Glory

OMAHA — It’s all on the hill.

Oklahoma is one of college baseball’s most dangerous teams at running the bases, ranking fourth in the nation with 142 swipes. The Sooners are a top 40 lineup nationally with a .298 batting average.

OU is 19th in the country with 132 doubles and ranks in the top 75 as a team with 70 home runs.

But if the Sooners are going to have sustained success at the College World Series — if this OU team is going to recapture ancient glory of actually pursuing the program’s third national championship (and first since 1994) — then they’re going to have to continue to pitch at a championship level.

“We've got a lot of level-headed guys,” center fielder Tanner Tredaway said at a press conference Thursday at Charles Schwab Field downtown. “Guys that don't get too low or too high. Not too high on emotion, which I think is good. I think that's good. Keeps you locked in and (allows you to) stay in the moment.”

How to Watch

Charles Schwab Field, Omaha

Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M
1 p.m.
ESPN

OU (42-22) plays No. 5 national seed Texas A&M (42-18) on Friday at 1 p.m. (ESPN) in the opening game of the College World Series.

Win or lose, a game looms Sunday against either Notre Dame or Texas.

For Oklahoma to make a run through this half of the bracket, the Sooners need their pitchers to remain masterful.

“Our starting pitching has been nails pretty much all year,” said shortstop Peyton Graham. “The pen, we've got guys in there that can get the job done. So we never really stand out in the field and worry, ‘Is this guy going to get him out or give up a run?’ We're pretty confident in those guys — especially (closer) Trevin Michael, he's been phenomenal this year.”

Sophomore left hander Jake Bennett has been the rock of the staff all season, with 15 of his 17 starts lasting at least five innings and 11 going at least six innings. On the season, the Bixby, OK, product is 9-3 with a 3.53 earned run average. He has 120 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings and opponents are hitting just .235 against him.

“He’s kind of like the poster child of what we try to do with the pitchers: bring them in, put them in a plan of success as they develop in their career,” said head coach Skip Johnson. “It shows you what our strength and training staff is about and all the things that happened on our wagon wheel of culture.

“You look at what he looked like in high school and how his body changed with the strength and development going from our trainer, teaching him a routine of getting better every day, and then us as coaches trying to teach him to repeat his delivery. And he kind of took his own accountability to get better. And sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't work for young men. But to his credit, he took over and did those things. It's been great.”

Jake Bennett works out in Omaha

David Sandlin at the CWS

Skip Johnson (right) watches Cade Horton in the bullpen at Charles Schwab Field.

As good as Bennett has been in the ace role, Michael might have been even better as the Sooners’ closer.

Michael, a grad student from Piedmont via Northern Oklahoma College and Lamar University, leads the OU staff with a 2.94 ERA with 10 saves. He has 90 strikeouts in just 64 1/3 innings and in his last three appearances, he’s retired 12 batters in a row.

“He's kind of a hybrid,” Johnson said. “He can start a game. He can throw three innings. He can close a game. He can do things that — what you need to do as a closer, you've got to be able to field your position. You've got to be able to hold runners (and) throw two pitches for strikes and he's done those things.”

The catalyst for the OU staff, however, has been redshirt freshman Cade Horton.

His 2022 numbers aren’t overwhelming — 4-2, 5.58 ERA, 40 Ks in 40 1/3 innings — but Horton’s sudden emergence in the No. 3 spot behind Bennett and David Sandlin has been key to the Sooners’ postseason surge.

Against Texas in the Big 12 Tournament, Horton went 5 1/3 innings, gave up just one run on two hits and two walks. At Florida, he went 6 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk. And last week at Virginia Tech, Horton spotted his fastball and baffled the Hokies with his devastating curveball, giving up just two runs on two hits and two walks.

OU lost that game to the Gators as the bullpen struggled behind Horton, but his performance in Gainesville clearly gave him confidence the following week in Blacksburg.

“He's gotten better every outing,” Johnson said. “I think he'll continue to get better every outing. And that just shows you the work that he puts in. He's the guy that wants to stay late and keep working. He wants to come early and keep working.”

Two factors were important to Horton’s development: his return from elbow surgery last year as a true freshman out of Norman, and the coaching staff’s insistence on him becoming a full-time pitcher.

“We had to take Cade off third and throw this guy in the Sunday role and kind of let him build up,” Johnson said.

Oklahoma embraces its role as an underdog in this year’s field, but not everyone here sees the Sooners that way.

“Oklahoma is built to win this thing,” said Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle. “I can tell you that, because the run game, the bunt game, that's a real offense. And obviously we're facing a great pitcher and a great pitching staff. So we have a lot of challenges ahead of us.”