5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s 2-0 start in the College World Series

With their two wins, the Oklahoma Sooners moved over .500 all-time in the College World Series, beating Texas A&M and Notre Dame and are 1 win away from the CWS championship.

It’s been more than a decade since the Oklahoma Sooners graced the streets of Omaha for the College World Series. Playing as well as any team coming in, the Sooners have taken full advantage of their opportunity to make a run at the national title with wins over Texas A&M and Notre Dame.

The Sooner have gotten standout pitching performances, have put on power displays at the plate, and displayed a versatility that makes them difficult to get out for opposing pitchers.

Skip Johnson has this group of youngsters playing fantastic and the aggressive style of play has put Oklahoma one win away from reaching the College World Series championship series.

While they await the winner of the elimination game between the Fighting Irish and the Aggies, the Sooners get a much-deserved break. They’ll take on the winner on Wednesday in the semifinal matchup.

With a couple days till Oklahoma next takes the field, here are five takeaways from their 2-0 start to the College World Series.

Men’s College World Series Results: Unseeded teams strike first, advance to winner’s bracket

Keep up with the outcomes of each game with our Men’s College World Series results tracker.

The Men’s College World Series got off to a roaring start with the unseeded teams taking the first four games on the first two days in Omaha. There were big offensive performances and strong pitching performances in other games.

After the first round of games, the MCWS will lose two more seeded teams on Sunday and Monday. Stanford, the highest-seeded team remaining will take on Auburn on Monday and No. 9 Texas will face No. 5 Texas A&M.

On the winner’s side of things, the Oklahoma Sooners will face Notre Dame and Ole Miss will take on Arkansas.

Keep up with the action with our handy Men’s College World Series results tracker and find broadcast information for each game.

Social media reacts to the Oklahoma Sooners 13-8 win over Texas A&M

It was a thrilling start for Oklahoma Baseball as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead over the Texas A&M Aggies through their first two turns at the plate. They used timely two-out hitting, great patience at the plate, and took the Aggies’ pitching staff …

It was a thrilling start for Oklahoma Baseball as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead over the Texas A&M Aggies through their first two turns at the plate. They used timely two-out hitting, great patience at the plate, and took the Aggies’ pitching staff deep to start their time in Omaha off with a bang.

Oklahoma got a three-run home run from Jimmy Crooks and a grand slam from Jackson Nicklaus, but a lot of the damage they did was by getting the ball in play and running the bases.

Trevin Michael came in during the seventh inning in which Texas A&M was mounting a comeback and slowed the bleeding. He pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to preserve the win.

Now the Sooners get set to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the winner’s bracket of the Men’s College World Series as they look to capture their third baseball national championship. Meanwhile, the Aggies and the Texas Longhorns will face off in an elimination game setting up what could be an explosive Saturday at the College World Series.

Before we start getting ready for Sunday, here’s a look at the best social media reactions to Saturday’s win.

Relive Oklahoma’s 13-8 win over Texas A&M in the Men’s College World Series

Take a look back at the Oklahoma Sooners’ 13-8 win over Texas A&M through some of the best photos from game one of the Men’s College World Series.

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a great start in their 13-8 win over Texas A&M in the Men’s College World Series.

They struck first with a run in the top of the first inning and then exploded for seven runs in the second. Oklahoma manufactured runs with great baserunning, patience at the plate, and using the long ball to put away their former Big 12 and future SEC foe.

In order to win the College World Series, you almost have to win the first game in the series. It isn’t often that a team comes out of the loser’s bracket to win the whole thing.

Oklahoma will now face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after they defeated the Texas Longhorns 7-3 in the second game on Friday. But before we begin looking at the Irish, let’s take a look at some of the best photos from Oklahoma’s 13-8 win over the Texas A&M Aggies.

Sooners open College World Series with 13-8 win over Texas A&M

A seven-run second inning and grand slam from Jackson Nicklaus in the fourth propelled the Oklahoma Sooners to a 13-8 win in their College World Series opener over Texas A&M.

Making their first appearance since 2010, the Oklahoma Sooners wasted little time making their presence felt against future SEC foe Texas A&M. The Sooners jumped out quick with a run in the first and seven in the second to go on to a 13-8 victory over the Aggies in game one of the Men’s College World Series.

The Sooners got off to a great start, putting pressure on Texas A&M from the opening frame.

John Spikerman led off the College World Series with a walk. Peyton Graham fought off an 0-2 count to slap a single to right field, moving Spikerman to third.

Blake Roberson followed that up with a fielder‘s choice to short to get the scoring going.

Pitcher Jake Bennett started hot as well, retiring the Aggies in order in the first.

And the the fireworks started. Jackson Nicklaus earned a one-out walk and Kendall Pettis reached on a hit by pitch with two outs in the inning. Spikerman then reached on an infield single before Peyton Graham got the bases loaded walk to make it 2-0.

Robertson singled to score Pettis and Spikerman and Tanner Tredaway drove in Peyton Graham from second.

Still with two outs in the inning and two on, Jimmy Crooks stepped to the plate and crushed a three-run homer to make it 8-0 before the end of the second inning.

Still early in the game the Aggies would get a three-run homer to cut the lead to five.

Heading to the top of the fourth and looking to get some momentum back, the Sooners loaded the bases for Nicklaus who deposited the offering into the right field seats for the grand slam to make it 12-3.

The Aggies again rallied in the seventh off  of David Sandlin for five runs on four hits to make it a 12-8 ball game.

Trevin Michael came in with one out and runners on the corners and allowed both of the inherited runners to score before shutting the door in the seventh. Skip Johnson relied on Michael’s arm the rest of the way as the Sooners’ closer pitched the final 2.2 innings to seal the victory for Oklahoma and put them into the winner’s bracket of the Men’s College World Series.

Michael allowed just one hit and one walk in the 2.2 innings pitch and recorded three strike outs to close the door on Texas A&M.

Starter Jake Bennett pitched six innings, allowing five hits, two of which were home runs, four earned runs, and struck out just three Aggies on the day.

Robertson went 2-for-4 with two walks and an RBI from the lead off spot and Tanner Tredaway was 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored. Oklahoma registered seven RBIs with two outs and forced Aggie pitching to surrender 10 walks on the afternoon.

Oklahoma now awaits the winner of Texas vs. Notre Dame, potentially setting up some Red River drama in the winner’s bracket if the Men’s College World Series.

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Top 20 schools with the most College World Series appearances

With the College World Series set to get underway, here’s a look at the 20 schools with the most appearances all-time. Where do the Sooners 11 appearances rank?

The Oklahoma Sooners are set to embark on another quest in their journey to become the 2022 national champions. Opening the College World Series against Texas A&M, the Sooners look to continue the level of play that carried them to a Big 12 tournament title and to series wins on the road in Gainesville and Blacksburg.

The Sooners haven’t had the easy path but they’ve made a habit of rising to the challenge of being the underdog and head to Omaha in the same boat. But with their performance on the field, they’ve shown that they’re a team to be reckoned with in the College World Series and have just as good a shot as anyone in the field.

The Sooners haven’t been to the College World Series since 2010. They’re one of three teams in the history of college baseball to make more than 10 appearances but hold a losing record in the CWS. The other two are Florida and Mississippi State. The Sooners have a chance to get to .500 record with a win against Texas A&M on Friday and remove themselves from that distinction.

The Texas Longhorns are No. 1 all-time with 38 appearances and have the most CWS wins in the history of the sport with 88. Texas also holds the dubious distinction for most losses in the College World Series with 63.

Among schools with at least 10 appearances, the USC Trojans hold the best winning percentage at .740 and the most CWS titles.

As the College World Series gets underway on Friday, here are the 20 teams with the most College World Series appearances all-time.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas A&M: How to watch, stream, listen, and key players of College World Series opener

The Oklahoma Sooners open the College World Series Friday against the Texas A&M Aggies, and here’s how you can check out the action.

The Oklahoma Sooners return to the College World Series for the first time since 2010. Riding the wave as one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last few months, the Sooners have erupted for incredible offensive performances and received timely pitching from their staff.

On Friday, they take on the Texas A&M Aggies in their opener in the College World Series. The Aggies hold a 42-18 record and went 19-11 in the SEC, finishing atop the SEC West.

The Sooners’ former Big 12 foe and future SEC opponent advanced to the College World Series after winning the College State regional and beating Louisville in the Super Regional, which was also in College Station.

Oklahoma’s road to the College World Series was a little more tenuous. First they advanced through the Gainesville Regional after beating regional host Florida twice. They then went on the road again to face No. 4 seed Virginia Tech and took two of three.

Skip Johnson’s crew has been battle-tested and has faced every situation over the last few months. Their run of five straight series wins, a Big 12 tournament title, and advancing to the College World Series reveals a team that’s been playing their best baseball and shouldn’t be counted out against anyone.

If the Sooners can get solid pitching from their staff, the offense should be able to take care of the rest.

As we get set for the return trip to Omaha, here’s how you can tune into Oklahoma Baseball’s opener against Texas A&M.

  • Date: Friday, June 17, 2022
  • Time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
  • TV Channel: ESPN2
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
  • Radio Broadcast: The game can be heard on 99.3 and 1400 KREF in Oklahoma and nationwide on The Varsity app.

Oklahoma vs Texas A&M

Players to watch:

Oklahoma Sooners

[autotag]Tanner Tredaway[/autotag]: .373 batting average with 9 home runs, 61 RBIs, 17 walks, and 23 stolen bases.

[autotag]Peyton Graham[/autotag]: .336 batting average with 20 home runs, 70 RBIs, 24 walks. and 32 stolen bases.

[autotag]Blake Robertson[/autotag]: .311 batting average with 5 home runs, 48 RBIs, 65 walks, and 12 stolen bases.

[autotag]Jimmy Crooks[/autotag]: .311 batting average with 7 home runs, 45 RBIs, 43 walks, and 10 stolen bases.

[autotag]Kendall Pettis[/autotag]: .279 batting average with 5 home runs, 26 RBIs, 30 walks, and 22 stolen bases.

[autotag]Jake Bennett[/autotag]: 9-3 with a 3.53 ERA, 120 strikeouts in 104.2 innings pitched.

[autotag]Trevin Michael[/autotag]: 4-1 with a 2.94 ERA, 90 strikeouts in 64.1 innings pitched with 10 saves.

Texas A&M Aggies

Jack Moss: .394 batting average with 6 home runs, 47 RBIs, and 27 walks.

Austin Bost: .359 batting average with 9 home runs, 43 RBIs, and 32 walks.

Dylan Rock: .332 batting average with 18 home runs, 61 RBIs, 50 walks. and 16 stolen bases.

Ryan Targac: .298 batting average with 15 home runs, 57 RBIs, 39 walks. and 11 stolen bases.

Nathan Detmer: 5-2 with a 4.75 ERA, 75 strikeouts in 83.1 innings pitched.

Micah Dallas: 6-3 with a 5.40 ERA, 83 strikeouts in 76.2 innings pitched.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.