Oklahoma baseball: Hokie blowout win sets up winner-take-all final for CWS berth

The 4th-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies came out smokin’ in Game 2 of the NCAA Blacksburg Super Regional and never let up, putting up big numbers in multiple innings en route to a 14-8 win over the unseeded but plucky Oklahoma baseball team.

As a result, Virginia Tech (45-13) staves off elimination, setting up a winner-take-all final game on Sunday. The two teams will meet again on Sunday at Old English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park in Blacksburg, Virginia, with the winner advancing to the College World Series.

Oklahoma (41-23) won the first game in the series 5-4 on Friday. That meant Virginia Tech had its back against the wall, having to win on Saturday or see its season come to an end.

Hokie first baseman Nick Biddison got Virginia Tech on the board right off the bat on Saturday with a towering lead-off home run to left off of Sooner starter David Sandlin. The Hokies expanded the advantage to 5-0 in the third inning on a pair of two-run long balls by Cade Hunter and Gavin Cross.

Just like that, Oklahoma found itself in a five-run hole, but the offense for the resilient Sooners came to life in the bottom of the third. OU had been held hitless to that point by Virginia Tech starter Drue Hackerberg. OU pieced together a couple of singles around a pair of walks and a hit batter to score three times in the inning and cut into the Hokie lead. Catcher Jimmy Crooks’ sharp single up the middle scored two of the runs. All three runs scored with two out.

The Sooners might have had more runs in the third, but Christian Worley, in relief of the Hokie starter Hackenberg, struck out Jackson Nicklaus with the bases loaded to squelch the OU rally.

Brett Squires went yard leading off the fourth for OU, bringing the Sooners to within one run of the Hokies, but that was as close as Oklahoma would get the remainder of the game.

Virginia Tech responded with four runs in the top of the fifth to open up a 9-5 lead and then added three more in the sixth and one in the seventh to go up13-5 and effectively put the game out of reach.

The Hokies banged out 16 hits off of seven Oklahoma pitchers, including three home runs. Hunter, the Virginia Tech catcher, was the most productive of the Hokie hitters, going three-for-four at the plate, driving in a pair of runs and scoring three times. Biddison also had an active day at the plate, with three hits, including two solo home runs.

Sandlin was pulled after 3 2/3 innings after allowing five earned runs and six hits. He also struck out six. The six Sooner hurlers who followed Sandlin to the mound were unable to stem the offensive avalanche.

Sandlin was charged with the loss, his fourth to go with eight wins on the season. Hokie pitcher Jonah Hurney earned the win in relief, going four full innings, giving up one run on two hits.

Oklahoma’s eight hits in the game were scattered throughout the lineup. Only two OU starters failed to get a hit. Jackson Nicklaus led all Sooners with a couple of hits; he also struck out twice in five plate appearances.

Oklahoma (41-23) has been one of the hottest teams in the country over the past month and had won eight of its last nine games and was 4-1 in the postseason before Saturday’s humbling defeat. The Sooners are going to have to put this one game behind them and come out ready to play and play well on Sunday if they are going to keep their season alive.

OU’s last appearance in the College World Series was in 2010. The Sooners own two national championships in their history (in 1951 and 1994) and have been to the CWS 10 times.