OU Baseball: Sooners Shut Out Crimson Tide Behind Rager Gem

OMAHA, Neb. – Behind the third straight superlative performance from freshman lefthander Cord Rager, Oklahoma (39-22) posted an authoritative 9-0 shutout over No. 7 national seed Alabama (42-20) in a first-round College World Series game on Saturday afternoon before a sellout crowd of 24,579 at Charles Schwab Field.

In his longest outing as a Sooner, Rager (6-3) threw 7.0 innings, scattered three hits and struck out eight while needing just 88 pitches to do so.

Helping OU’s cause was an 11-hit attack that included a two-run home run from injured junior catcher Deiten Lachance, who sprained his left ankle when he misstepped on the left side of second base in the first inning. Lachance had his ankle heavily taped, remained in the game and finished 2 for 5 at the plate with two RBIs and three runs scored.

Asked afterward in an ESPN interview how much pain he was in, the well-humored Lachance smiled and said, “I felt fine, 100 percent. I’m good to go. There was no problem.”

Jaxon Willits and Dasan Harris each went 2 for 4. Eight starters had at least one hit.

With the victory, OU advances to play at 6 p.m. Monday against the winner of Saturday night’s opening-round game between Texas and Georgia.

It was the third straight quality start for the 6-foot-6, 237-pound Rager, all coming in the NCAA Tournament. In his most recent outing, Rager surrendered just one hit and struck out six while going six innings OU’s 8-1 victory at No. 15 Kansas in the Lawrence Super Regional on June 6.

Rager didn’t allow a hit against the Crimson Tide until the bottom of the fifth inning when he opened by surrendering back-to-back singles. A 3-6-3 double play orchestrated by first baseman Dayton Tockey ended the threat.

“I just tried to tell myself, ‘It’s like any other game.’ And I just worked the process. And everything else just kind of fades away,” Rager said. “So I had tunnel focus. The double play that Deiten made and all the plays the defense made are always helpful and always just take a little stress out of throwing.”

OU coach Skip Johnson said, “Cord did a great job of staying in the process. Our defense was really good. Our at-bats, (we weren’t) chasing pitches that we’ve chased before. Getting good at-bats and sustained some rallies. And LaChance hits a big home run to separate the game.”

Rager left the game after striking out the side in the seventh.

“He attacked,” LaChance said of Rager’s dominating performance. “Every inning, that’s all he does. He’s just attacking you. That’s all we need from him right now.”

Rager’s curveball was particularly effective and complemented command of his fastball.

“Location’s always something you work on,” Rager said. “I’ve always been good with location. And knowing I had my curveball today, which my curveball was on today. And to get those hitters out without having to change really. It was the back-foot curve. It worked well for me today. I could rely on it, and I had the location with it. I just had good feel with it today.”

Lachance said of Rager’s curve: “He can use it any time he wants. He can throw a strike whenever he wants with it. He’s nasty, man. That’s why he’s the best pitcher in the country. Best freshman in the country for sure.”

Designated hitter Trey Gambill gave the Sooners a 2-0 in the top of the first with a two-run single that scored Lachance and Willits.

Center fielder Jason Walk walked to start the third inning, stole second and advanced to third on Camden Johnson’s line-drive single to right. Walk then scored on a double-play ball to push the Sooners’ lead to 3-0.

Lachance gave the Sooners a 5-0 lead with his two-run homer in the top of the sixth. His 409-foot line drive over the left-field wall had an exit velocity of 110.0 mph. Limping badly on his heavily taped left ankle, Lachance cautiously hobbled his way around the bases.

It was his 16th homer of the season, all coming in the last 29 games after going homerless in the first 31 games. “He (Alabama ace Tyler Fay) gave me a good pitch to hit and I didn’t miss it,” Lachance said.

Jaxon Willits made it 6-0 with a single to center in the top of the eighth to score Lachance. Brendan Brock followed with a single up the middle to score a limping Lachance from second base to put OU in front 7-0.

Harris set the final margin with a two-run single to right-center to score Willits and Brock.

Junior righthander L.J. Mercurius relieved Rager and threw two scoreless innings.

“I’m really proud of these kids for staying in the process,” Johnson said. “Really one pitch at a time. That’s what they did. That’s what we talk about. That’s what we preach. And I’m really proud of them for doing that and staying in the routines.”