Oklahoma rolls into finals by ousting Texas A&M
Sandlin strikes out 12 in seven innings to eliminate Aggies
OMAHA, Neb. — Oklahoma’s baseball players came to the College World Series calling themselves “a bunch of Davids,” a nod to their embrace of the underdog identity they adopted after an underwhelming start to the season.
It was one David — David Sandlin — who got most of the credit Wednesday for taking down Texas A&M, the last of the national seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Sandlin (9-4) held the Aggies to one run and struck out a career-high 12 in seven innings, Jimmy Crooks’ three-run homer in the first held up, and Oklahoma advanced to the CWS finals with a 5-1 victory.
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-ofthree finals starting Saturday will be either Arkansas or Mississippi. Those two teams met Wednesday night, with Ole Miss needing one win to advance and Arkansas needing two.
For the first time in the 75-year history of the CWS, each of the first 11 games has been decided by four or more runs.
As Sooners fans chanted “O-U!
O-U!” closer Trevin Michael struck out Brett Minnich to end the game against the Aggies. The celebration was subdued.
“I think those kids are focused,” coach Skip Johnson said. “I don’t know if it’s dog-piling or whatever it is . ... It’s kind of weird sometimes. I don’t tell them not to dog-pile, I can tell you that.”
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.
Late Tuesday
Arkansas 11, Auburn 1: Will McEntire limited Auburn to three hits and a run in seven innings, Peyton Stovall became the first player in 13 years with five hits in a CWS game, and Arkansas (45-20) eliminated the Tigers.
Auburn (43-22) finished with 18 more wins than a year ago and made it to Omaha despite being picked last in the SEC West.
McEntire (2-2) gave the Hogs the quality start they needed after they used seven pitchers in a 13-5 loss to Ole Miss on Monday. He retired the first 11 batters he faced before Sonny DiChiara singled to center with two outs in the fourth. The 6-foot4, 225-pound right-hander struck out a career-high nine, walked one and didn’t give up a run until Bobby Peirce homered in the seventh.
“I’d say that’s No. 1,” McEntire said when asked where the performance ranked in his career.