Sandlin, Crooks power Sooners past Aggies and into CWS finals
David Sandlin held Texas A&M to one run and struck out a careerhigh 12 in seven innings, Jimmy Crooks’ three-run homer in the first held up and Oklahoma advanced to the College World Series finals with a 5-1 victory Wednesday.
Trying to complete a softball-baseball title sweep, the Sooners (45-22) have won three straight games at Charles Schwab Field by no fewer than four runs and will play for their first national championship since 1994.
Their opponent in the best-of-three finals starting Saturday will be either Arkansas or Mississippi who played late Wednesday. The Rebels need one win to advance and Arkansas needing two.
Texas A&M (44-20) finished 2-2 in the CWS under first-year coach Jim Schlossnagle after going 29-27, winning only nine Southeastern Conference games and not even qualifying for the league tournament in 2021.
The Sooners didn’t look like an NCAA Tournament team after losing two of their first three Big 12 series and starting 18-12. They’ve won 27 of 37, including 12 of 14 since the end of the regular season.
Sandlin (9-4), who allowed five hits and walked one in his 100-pitch outing, effectively worked the outside half of the plate with a sharp slider and elevated fastball.
He struck out the first three batters he faced, five of the first eight and 10 of the first 20. He encountered trouble in the fourth inning when the first two batters reached base. He then fanned Troy Claunch, Brett Minnich and Jordan Thompson on 12 pitches.
The Aggies, who lost 13-8 to OU in their CWS opener Friday, beat Texas and Notre Dame to reach the bracket final. But they couldn’t score against Sandlin until Dylan Rock homered to left center leading off the sixth.
LATE TUESDAY Texas A&M 5, Notre Dame 1:
Nathan Dettmer pitched three-hit ball over seven shutout innings, and the Aggies capitalized on mistakes by the Fighting Irish in an elimination game. The Irish (41-17) ended the season with their most wins since 2006 and first Omaha appearance since 2002. Dettmer, who struck out six and walked none, had his longest outing since he went seven innings against Vanderbilt on April 28. He threw 99 pitches, 68 for strikes.
The game was the ninth of the CWS, and all were decided by four or more runs. That was a first in the event’s 75-year history.
Arkansas 11, Auburn 1:
Will McEntire limited the Tigers to three hits and a run in seven innings, Peyton Stovall became the first player in 13 years with five hits in a College World Series game, and the Razorbacks (45-20) eliminated Auburn. Auburn (43-22) finished with 18 more wins than a year ago and made it to Omaha after being picked last in the Southeastern Conference West. McEntire gave the Hogs the quality start they needed after they used seven pitchers in a 13-5 loss to Ole Miss on Monday.
McEntire (2-2) retired the first 11 batters he faced before Sonny DiChiara singled to center with two outs in the fourth. Stovall, one of the nation’s top recruits last year, struggled for much of his freshman season but is batting .563 (9 of 16) through three games in Omaha and has a CWSleading 10 RBI.