The Oklahoma Sooners once again have their backs against the wall. They’re on the brink of either the third national title in program history or a magical season ending empty-handed.
The unseeded Sooners on Sunday lost to No. 5 national seed North Carolina 6-2 in Game 2 of the best-of-three championship series at the Men’s College World Series after crushing the Tar Heels the day before in Game 1.
The outcome on Father’s Day forced an “if necessary” Game 3 for Monday night in Omaha that will decide everything and reveal just how much Sooner Magic is left up Skip Johnson’s sleeve. Can he pull one more win out of that crimson cap?
But if there’s any fan base right now that should have confidence in their team heading into such a situation, it’s Sooner Nation. These Sooners shouldn’t be here, and that’s exactly why you want them here.
Why Sooner Nation should still feel confident after OU's CWS loss to North Carolina
Any college baseball fan keeping up knows the captivating story of this OU team already. It would make a great book, but a happy ending would make it feel too much like a fairy tail. But like a kid listening to one of those stories at bedtime, these Sooners have us believing anything is not just possible, but likely.
The Sooners had lost seven of their last 10 games entering the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Atlanta Regional, hosted by No. 2 national seed Georgia Tech. They hadn’t won a three-game series since mid-April after losing four in a row and were bounced in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Then, with nothing to lose, they not only slayed that giant twice, but overcame an 8-2 deficit first, then the next day came back down 7-3 in the seventh inning before Dayton Tockey’s walk-off swing was the stone to the Yellow Jackets’ forehead.
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Both of those situations were far more dangerous than what the Sooners are up against on Monday night. An SEC gauntlet is also even more daunting.
Nick Wesloski, the third freshman starter of the championship series for OU, will likely take the mound for the Sooners on Monday night. He pitched 6.2 innings and gave up just one run on three hits in his last outing five days before this one in an 11-4 win against Georgia to reach the final. He got them in the title fight, so now he can be the one to swing back.
Moments after that win to get the Sooners to this point, outfielder Trey Gambill told SEC Network, "In the, SEC it's a dogfight. You're going to get punched in the face, you're going to bleed from the mouth. The question is, do you like the taste of blood?"
The Tar Heels finally landed a punch, which no one else had been able to do in 22 days, but the Sooners like the taste of blood.
How to watch Oklahoma vs. North Carolina in Game 3 of CWS championship series
When: 6 p.m. CT Monday
Watch: ESPN (watch using fuboTV free trial)
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