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Oklahoma baseball: Sooners rally after long delay, win Gainesville Regional

By Chip Rouse

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 04: Brett Squires #12 of the Oklahoma Sooners hits a double in the fifth inning against the LSU Tigers during the Shriners Children's College Classic at Minute Maid Park on March 4, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 04: Brett Squires #12 of the Oklahoma Sooners hits a double in the fifth inning against the LSU Tigers during the Shriners Children's College Classic at Minute Maid Park on March 4, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma baseball withstood a long weather delay, then rallied from a two-run deficit to defeat top-seed Florida and win the NCAA Gainesville Regional on Monday.

The Sooner bats came alive in the eighth inning after play finally resumed, erupting for four runs that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead, and then held on for a 5-4 win to eliminate the Gators and advance to the Super Regionals next weekend.

Florida led 2-1 when the rains came with two outs in the top of the seventh and Oklahoma batting. Play resumed after a five-hour and 33-minute wait. Ryan Slater came on in relief of Gator starter Brandon Neely after the delay and retired OU’s Kendall Pettis, who had homered earlier in the game, for the final Sooner out in the seventh.

The Gators added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Ty Evans fouled out to right field with the bases loaded, scoring Colby Halter from third.

Oklahoma sent nine batters to the plate in the decisive eighth frame, piecing together four hits along with a walk, the big hit a two-run home run by Peyton Graham, to erase the Florida lead and go out in front 5-3.

Florida scored on run in the bottom of the ninth on a one-out solo blast by lead-off hitter Wyatt Langford to draw within a run, but OU ace Jake Bennett retired the next two hitters, striking out BT Riopelle to end the game and punch the Sooners’ ticket to the next round of the NCAA Baseball Championship.

Trevin Michael, who prior to Monday’s regional championship game with Florida had been used exclusively in relief, started the game for the Sooners and turned in six strong innings, giving up two runs on six hits and recording five strikeouts. Chazz Martinez followed Trevin to the mound, pitching the seventh after the long weather delay, and Bennett finished things out in the eighth and ninth.

The Sooners improved to 40-21 on the season and have won 13 of their last 16 games during their late season surge.

Oklahoma will face No. 4 overall seed Virginia Tech in the Blacksburg (Virginia) Super Regional next weekend. The last time the Sooners won a regional championship in the NCAA Baseball Championship was in 2013, defeating Virginia Tech on the Hokies home field.

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