OU baseball stays alive
OU baseball wins two games as Oklahoma staved off elimination with a pair of wins Sunday, beating Nebraska 17-1 before topping host North Carolina 9-5 in the nightcap.
Read more: OU baseball staves off elimination with 2 victories
The Sooners (38-21) forced a winner-take-all matchup with the regional host and No. 5 national seed Tar Heels Monday at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.
The OU (38-21) offense put up a combined 26 runs on 29 hits on the day, hitting five home runs across the two games.
Sooner pitching limited opponents to a combined six runs on 13 hits with 20 strikeouts.
GAME ONE (OU 17, NU 1)
OU baseball dominated Nebraska (33-29) in the first elimination game, beating the Huskers 17-1 for OU’s third-highest scoring output in an NCAA tournament game in program history.
With the win, the Sooners advanced to their second straight regional final and third in the last four years.
Junior Easton Carmichael hit two home runs for the third time of his career, while the Sooners put up 17 runs on 18 hits.
Both runs and hits tied for season highs. Eight Sooners had multi-hit games and six brought in two or more runs.
OU starting left-handed pitcher Cade Crossland was exceptional in his 13th start of the season.
The lefty went seven innings, striking out nine and walking two while scattering five hits and no earned runs.
The Sooners raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The first three batters reached for OU, setting the table for a two-run Jaxon Willits single.
Two batters later with two on, a fielder’s choice off the bat of Sam Christiansen scored the third run of the frame.
In the third, the Sooners exploded for six runs on seven hits and a Nebraska error.
Carmichael led off the inning with his first homer of the game.
In the inning, Willits and senior Scott Mudler registered RBI doubles, redshirt sophomore Sam Christiansen had a RBI triple, freshman Kyle Branch brought one in on a sacrifice fly and junior Dawson Willis plated the sixth run on a single.
Branch pushed one across on a single up in the middle in the fourth before OU put up another crooked number in the sixth, scoring five.
Willis scored Christiansen on a sac fly RBI before an RBI single from sophomore Dasan Harris.
The next batter, Carmichael, launched his second home run of the day on a three-run shot over the scoreboard in left field.
It was Carmichael’s third long ball in Chapel Hill and 17th on the season.
The Huskers scored their lone run of the game in the sixth, scoring an unearned run on an RBI single to third base.
Crossland exited after the seventh, allowing just five hits while striking out nine and surrendering one unearned run.
The Sooners plated another pair on three hits in the eighth.
Harris continued his tear at the plate with an RBI double to left center, before freshman Drew Dickerson recorded a sac-fly RBI to score OU’s 17th run.
Freshman Michael Catalano entered in the eighth and closed the game for OU, going two innings of scoreless ball while surrendering one hit and one walk to go with three strikeouts.
GAME TWO (OU 9, UNC 5)
Facing elimination for the second time on the day, the Sooners hit three home runs and the pitching staff held down a powerful Tar Heel offense en route to a 9-5 win over UNC (44-13).
OU struck first in the third on a leadoff blast from Dawson Willis, his sixth of the year.
The Tar Heels responded with a solo shot of their own at the top of the fourth.
Carmichael gave the Sooners the lead back in the bottom of the fourth, inducing an error on a hard-hit ball to third base that allowed Branch to race home.
Carolina once again answered in the next inning, taking a 3-2 lead on a two-run double by Gavin Gallaher.
The Sooners responded with a five-run sixth inning and never relinquished the lead.
Dickerson continued his career weekend with a two-run, go-ahead blast before a two RBI double from Willits pushed the lead to three runs.
Branch made it a 7-3 lead through six with an RBI single to center.
UNC rallied with two runs in the top half of the seventh via groundout and an RBI double from catcher Luke Stevenson.
At the top of the eighth, OU closer Dylan Crooks entered with the bases loaded and no outs.
Crooks proceeded to get a strikeout and induce a pair of pop ups to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the eighth, Harris kept swinging a hot bat with his second home run of the season on a solo shot to right to make it 9-5, OU.
Crooks retired the side in order in the ninth to secure his 16th save of the season, a number good for second nationally and second in a single season in program history.
At the plate, three Sooners registered multi-hit games, while Willits and Dickerson each plated a pair to lead OU.
Barfield went four innings of one-run ball, surrendering just two hits in the third start of his freshman campaign.
Hitt (3-0) earned the win in relief, hurling two innings with two strikeouts. Bodin (1.0 IP) and Crooks (2.0) finished the job with Bodin fanning a pair to Crooks’ one.
OU and UNC meet for the third time in three days in the winner-take-all regional final Monday at 2 p.m. The game can be seen via ESPNU and heard on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF in Oklahoma or nationwide on The Varsity Network app.
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