Unforgettable Season Ends with Losses to Ole Miss

OMAHA, Neb. – Game 2 of the championship series in the NCAA Men's College World Series was a pitching duel the first five innings.

One hit, no runs for Oklahoma. Two hits, no runs for Mississippi.

Suffice to say, runs were at a premium before sellout crowd of 25,972 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.

The Sooners appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning on a perfectly executed safety squeeze play. Given the circumstances, scoring a run was no small feat. So imagine the heartache when that lone run suddenly was taken off the board.

When the dust and controversy settled, OU wound up on the short end of a 4-2 final in game two against the Rebels in the best-of-3 championship series.

It brought a gut-wrenching end to a magical final two months for a team picked to finish sixth in the preseason Big 12 Conference poll.

“Wow,” Sooners fifth-year head coach Skip Johnson said afterward. “We fought our butts off all day long. Take the momentum of the game in that one inning, it kind of got taken away from us.”

OU redshirt freshman righthander Cade Horton turned in a spectacular performance, striking out a career-high 13 while allowing just four hits and two runs with no walks on 107 pitches (79 strikes) over 7.1 innings. The Norman, Okla., product also set an MCWS Championship series mark with his 13 punch outs. In two starts at the Men's College World Series, Horton struck out 24 batters over 13.1 innings and became the fourth pitcher since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1999 with multiple 10-strikeout outings in the MCWS, joining Florida's Alex Faedo (2017), UCLA's Trevor Bauer (2010) and Cal State Fullerton's Jason Windsor (2004).

“Cade was outstanding,” Johnson said.

“Obviously that was our goal coming into it,” Horton said of winning the national title. “We made it here, and we accomplished a lot this year. But we'll be back. I know that because this team laid the foundation for the future of Oklahoma baseball.”

During the critical sequence in the sixth inning, OU freshman rightfielder John Spikerman laid down a bunt in front of home plate, which Mississippi pitcher Hunter Elliott fielded and threw to first base as Jackson Nicklaus was in the process of scoring from third base.

Originally, the play stood. However, Ole Miss (42-23) challenged the ruling and the play was overturned due to runner interference. Spikerman was ruled out at first, Nicklaus was forced to return to third and Kendall Pettis to first. Rather than leading 1-0 with one out and runners on second and third, there was a scoreless tie with two outs and runners on first and third. Graham Peyton then flew out to right field for the final out.

“Running the runner's lane, that's maybe what the call was, and they had to go back to the other bases because it kills it right there,” Johnson explained. “I think the biggest thing that I want to explain with that deal is the umpires are going to – if we take out the human element of the umpires, this game is not ever going to be any good. If we continue to do those things and not put a computer or whatever they want to do, it's going to continue to be good.”

Johnson said, “That's the interpretation of the rule. They have a runner's lane there, and if we mess with the fabric of the game by getting computer umpires, I think I'll just go fishing.”

The turn of events stunned the Sooners dugout. Making matters worse, Jacob Gonzalez hit a solo homer for the Rebels in the bottom half of the inning to give Ole Miss a 1-0 lead as the highly partisan Ole Miss crowd erupted.

With two outs and nobody on in the top of the seventh, the still determined Sooners manufactured a 2-1 lead when redshirt sophomore catcher Jimmy Crooks doubled down the right-field line. Wallace Clark walked, and freshman second baseman Jackson Nicklaus hit a bloop double over the shortstop's head to score Crooks and tie the score at 1.

Pinch-hitter Sebastian Orduno was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Pettis then walked on four straight pitches to make it 2-1.

“Well, I mean, they're going to fight,” Johnson said of his team. “That's one thing that they've done all year long. They've fought and they've fought, and they've fought and they've battled and battled. That's a part of their DNA, and that's a part of what the University of Oklahoma has taught them to do, and our culture has taught them how to do. I'm really proud of those guys.”

After OU had taken the lead, Horton took over on the mound with four straight strikeouts before leaving after T.J. McCants singled up the middle with one out in the eighth.

Horton was pulled in favor of closer Trevin Michael, who took the loss in the game. Back-to-back singles scored McCants and tied the score at 2. Two wild pitches led to two more runs that made the score 4-2.

“I think that us losing the momentum in the game really cost us, and I wouldn't want anybody behind the plate other than Jimmy Crooks or Trevin to close the game,” Johnson said. “Cade was at the end of his rope, and he wanted to keep going, and I've got to look out for him and his future.”

Johnson's post-game message in the locker room? “First thing is you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. You can be anybody you want to be, you put your mind to it. Secondly, the game doesn't care how you feel. That's why the details of the game are so important, and you've got to keep fighting for every inch that you get in baseball. You've got to continue to work.

“You did a great job. I love you. Really proud of you. Really proud of the coaches. What they did and what they accomplished was incredible. We've got to continue to grow as a team. … I'm just happy in that sense. Mad, pissed off about losing. I'm not happy about that.”

Horton said, “I think looking back at the beginning of the year, we didn't know how to win yet, and that's something our team figured out. We went through struggles with that … We kind of learned and got through that, learned how to win, started believing in each other, and it kind of just took off from there and set a good clear path for us.”

Oklahoma ends its season with a 45-24 record, including a 27-12 mark since April 12. OU won the Big 12 Championship, went 12-4 after the end of the regular season (8-4 in the NCAA Tournament) and won 14 of their last 19 games to end the year.

Redshirt sophomore first baseman Blake Robertson drew a walk in the eighth inning to raise his total to 69 walks on the season, breaking the school record of 68 previously set by Terry Bogener in 1976.

The Oklahoma pitching staff totaled 59 strikeouts over five games in Omaha and finished the 2022 campaign with a single-season school record 644 strikeouts. The total surpassed the previous programbest of 608 strikeouts set in 2018.

Ole Miss defeated the Sooners 10-3 Saturday in Game 1 of the championship series.

Oklahoma redshirt sophomore pitcher Javier Ramos, a Vian High School alumnus, did not appear in either of the championship series games.