Freshman Cord Rager has his OU teammates ready to take on the Yankees after dominating in MCWS

Holy smokes, Cord Rager.

Rager, a freshman left-handed pitcher, overpowered Alabama's lineup for seven innings in the Oklahoma Sooners' 9-0 win in the first game of the Men's College World Series on Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska. The Sooners are playing better baseball than just about any other team in the country right now, and while the nine guys in the lineup seem to be good enough to be the best in college baseball, put Rager on the mound, and they're ready to take on the best in the MLB.

"I mean, when he's on mound, you definitely have the chance to win, no matter who you face," OU catcher Deiten Lachance said after witnessing another dominant performance by Rager. "I mean, you can put the Yankees in front of me, I don't mind."

"Easy," joked head coach Skip Johnson, sitting next to his stars during the postgame press conference.

Oklahoma Sooners more confident than ever after dominating Alabama

The Sooners have made an improbable run to get this far and no one's pinched the Sooners yet during their dream run after upsetting No. 2 Georgia Tech at the Atlanta Regional, dismantling No. 15 Kansas in the Lawrence Super Regional and now being in the driver's seat at the MCWS after an opening blowout.

They've earned the confidence they've gained and there's no reason at this point to believe they can't beat any team in the other dugout. Heck, even if it is the New York Yankees since you might as well thought that's who were they were going up against in Atlanta with the way others talked.

Read more: Even improved odds reveal there's still no belief in Oklahoma's MCWS title run

Rager looked like a pro slicing up a college lineup Saturday while towering over everyone else on the field at Charles Schwab Field Omaha standing at 6-foot-6 on top of that mound. The Crimson Tide couldn't even touch Rager for four innings before finally getting their first hit by the time the Sooners had already built a 3-0 lead in the fourth.

He finished giving up only three hits and didn't walk anyone while striking out eight in his 7.0 shutout innings before LJ Mercurius finished things off. Rager's fastball, humming as quick as 97 mph, was just flat out too much for Bama's hitters to handle.

Rager became just the third OU pitcher in 12 trips to Omaha to toss 7-plus innings and not allow a run. It was the largest shutout win at the MCWS since 2002, before Rager was even born.

Now, after handling a team that beat them earlier in the season in a three-game series, the Sooners will play the winner between No. 3 Georgia and No. 6 Texas on Monday while navigating an all-SEC bracket to the championship series. And right now, the Yankees might be the only team that can stop the Sooners, especially with Rager on the mound.

"No," Johnson answered when asked if his team could actually beat the Yankees. "It's good that (Lachance) says that. He's got a lot of confidence now. I can tell you that the pitcher will get in the box with the Yankees. He's not going to be afraid of them. They probably beat him. But he'll throw it in there. I promise you that."

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