Those of us old enough to have witnessed the 1980 "Do you believe in miracles" U.S. Olympic hockey team victory over Russia are experiencing the second coming of that historic event-- and several times over -- in what the Oklahoma baseball has achieved this postseason in reaching the ultimate center stage of the sport: the championship series at the Men's College World Series.
For the second time this month, Oklahoma (42-21) took two games from a top-three national seed from the state of Georgia, defeating No. 3 Georgia, the highest remaining seed in the College World Series, by the convincing score of 11-4 on Wednesday night to advance to the championship series against No. 5 North Carolina (53-12-1).
The win over Georgia was the Sooners' eighth consecutive postseason win and the second in two nights over the SEC regular-season and tournament champions. OU's decisive victory eliminated the Bulldogs, one of the top national championship contenders entering 2026 postseason play.
Since losing to regional host and No. 2 national seed Georgia Tech on May 30 and facing elimination in the Atlanta Regional, Oklahoma has transformed into the hottest thing going in college baseball. The Sooners survived three elimination games, including back-to-back wins against the team with the country's most explosive offense, to win the Atlanta Regional championship, then followed that by totaling destroying No. 15 Kansas, the Big 12 champions, on its home field.
The Super Regional sweep of Kansas earned Oklahoma a 12th appearance in the College World Series in Omaha, where the Sooners have remained invincible, shutting out No. 7 Alabama 9-0 in their opening game and never trailing in taking consecutive games against perhaps the country's second-best offensive team in Georgia.
That leaves us with a best-of-three showdown between the last two teams left standing on the road to the 2026 NCAA championship, which begins on Saturday.
Although some of the players and the two teams are different than when Oklahoma and North Carolina last met in the postseason a year ago, the CWS championship series will afford the Sooners an opportunity to avenge being eliminated from the postseason by the Tar Heels in the Chapel Hill Regional last season. Oklahoma, however, leads the all-time series, which consists of just five games, 3-2.
Game 1 of the 2026 CWS championship series is Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. Game 2 is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, and if a third game is necessary, it will be at 6 p.m. Monday. Saturday and Monday's games will be on ESPN. Saturday's game will be on ABC.
What Oklahoma baseball fans need to know about North Carolina
- This is North Carolina's 13th College World Series appearance. The Tar Heels have never won a national title in baseball, but have finished as national runners-up twice (2006 and 2007). UNC finished second to Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season with a 22-5 record in conference play. The Tar Heels are 8-1 in NCAA postseason play this season, the lone loss coming against USC (9-5) in the UNC-hosted Chapel Hill Regional. The Heels take a 3-0 record into the championship series with wins over Ole Miss and No, 16 West Virginia twice in the CWS.
- The strength of the North Carolina team is in the pitching staff, which led the ACC this season with a collective ERA of 3.85 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.24. The Tar Heels ranked eighth in the ACC in hitting with a .292 average and second only to Georgia Tech, averaging 8.2 runs per game.
- Junior outfielder Owen Hull leads the Tar Heels in hitting with a .398 average, a .506 on-base percentage and a .614 slugging percentage. Five North Carolina starters have hit 10 or more home runs, led by 16 from junior third baseman Cooper Nicholson.
- On the pitching side, junior right-hander Jason DeCaro is the ace of the staff with an 11-2 record in 18 starts, an ERA of 2.31 and 94 strikeouts in 93.2 innings. The Tar Heels also are blessed with one of college baseball's best closers in freshman right-hander Caden Glauber, who is 11-0 with an ACC-best 2.14 ERA in 28 appearances. North Carolina pitchers own the first, second and sixth best ERA's in the ACC this season.
- In games in which standout reliever Glauber appears this season, North Carolina is a perfect 28-0.
What to know about Oklahoma heading into the CWS Finals
- Oklahoma has started three freshmen -- LHP Cord Rager, RHP Xander Mercurius and RHP Nick Wesloski -- on the mound in its three CWS wins. The trio worked a total of 20 innings, allowing just four earned runs on 13 hits for a combined ERA of 1.80 against two of the best teams in the SEC. The Sooner staff gave up just four home runs in two games to the best home run-hitting team in the country (Georgia).
- Oklahoma has a combined 34 hits and a .314 batting average in its three CWS games. By contrast, UNC has 29 out of 102 plate appearances for a team average of .284 in its three CWS wins. Cleanup hitter Jaxon Willits has been the Sooners' hottest hitters in the CWS with seven hits and a .538 batting average. Leadoff hitter Jason Walk and left fielder Brendan Brock both have five hits in three games and a .454 average.
- The Sooners have hit eight home runs in their three CWS games and 26 since NCAA postseason play began. They have hit 43 in the last 16 games; that's almost half of their 91 for the full season. In OU's 11-4 win over Georgia on Wednesday night, Jason Walk and Dasan Harris each hit two out of the park. Both players had just four home runs total for the season before Wednesday night.
- Oklahoma enters the championship series with 41 wins, the fewest by a team since the 2022 Ole Miss national championship team that ended the season with 42 wins. The Sooners' eight consecutive wins represent their longest winning streak of the season.
- Three fun statistical facts to keep in mind during the CWS championship series: 1) OU is 33-2 this season when it leads after the sixth inning; conversely, the Sooners are 3-18 when they trail after the sixth frame. 2) The Sooners are 33-5 when they outhit their opponent, and 3) OU is 22-3 when it scores six to nine runs in a game.
Predictions for Oklahoma vs. UNC in the 2026 CWS Championship Series
A month ago, a matchup between Oklahoma and North Carolina on the baseball diamond, would have heavily leaned in favor of the Tar Heels. But a lot has changed since then, and the Sooners may be playing the best baseball right now of any team in the country. An OU team that had trouble getting out of its own way over the second half of the season has suddenly become world beaters.
During the Sooners current winning streak they have beaten seven top-20 teams, including five against teams in the top 10. And they've done it with the combination of power, timely hitting and speed on the bases, outstanding pitching and exceptional defense. That is the formula of champions, and if OU is able to sustain that level of play in the championship series against a similarly structured opponent and one of the best pitching staffs the Sooners have seen all season, it will have a good chance of taking home the championship hardware.
The Cinderella ride continues. Oklahoma wins in three games.
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