The dream run for the Oklahoma Sooners became the nightmare scenario on Sunday as Ole Miss won 4-2 to complete the sweep and capture their first College World Series national championship.
Oklahoma played much better on Sunday than they did on Saturday, but a couple of passed balls did them in in the eighth inning and the Ole Miss pitching staff kept the Sooners’ bats at bay the rest of the way to pull off the championship win.
Though there are no moral victories in sports, the Sooners’ magical run should still be appreciated for their effort and their play, which got them to the championship series to begin with. They were arguably the best team in the country heading into the final, combining their excellent offense with some great pitching from their starters Jake Bennett and Cade Horton and reliever Trevin Michael.
It wasn’t the outcome that we expected as the Sooners played fairly clean ball throughout the NCAA tournament and had been great with runners in scoring position and with two outs. It wasn’t to be this weekend as Ole Miss took home their first national championship, but Oklahoma should be proud of the season they had. Could they have played better in the final, absolutely, but that shouldn’t take away from their tremendous run through the postseason.
Cade Horton was electric though. Striking out 13 and allowing just four hits and a hit by pitch. He provided a thrilling performance that had the sports world talking. Though he didn’t end up with the win, he was fantastic and has an incredibly bright future ahead of him.
With the baseball season coming to a close, let’s take a look at some of the best photos from the Sooners final game of 2022.