Oklahoma gets shutout win over Alabama, moves into winner’s bracket at College World Series
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Oklahoma didn’t mess around on Saturday afternoon in Omaha. The Sooners got right to it against SEC rival Alabama in their College World Series opener and never let up, rolling to a 9-0 victory that immediately put OU in good position for a long run at college baseball’s biggest prize.
It’s the 12th time in program history that Oklahoma has made it to Omaha, and the Sooners showed on Saturday they might be staying for a while, pounding out 11 hits in a dominant performance. While Oklahoma (39-22) advanced to a winner’s bracket game on Monday night against the winner of Saturday night’s game between Texas and Georgia, Alabama (42-20) will now be facing elimination on Monday afternoon against the loser of the Texas-Georgia matchup.
The Sooners got the crucial opening-game victory and made a little history, too. According to the ESPN broadcast on Saturday, OU’s win was the largest shutout victory in a College World Series opener since 2002. That year, Georgia Tech pounded South Carolina, 11-0, and while the Sooners didn’t reach double digits in their 2026 CWS opener, they came as close as possible and had as easy a time as possible against the Tide.
All but 1 player in Oklahoma’s starting lineup recorded at least 1 hit, so it was a balanced, potent attack that swallowed Alabama on Saturday. The headliner offensively for the Sooners though was catcher Deiten Lachance, who appeared to suffer a sprained ankle in the first inning but didn’t let that stop him.
Lachance went 2 for 5 with 3 runs scored, highlighted by a 2-run home run to left field in the top of the sixth that gave OU a 5-0 cushion. He hobbled around the bases on that bum ankle after the blast, and he scored again in the eighth inning after a single, putting that ankle to the test one last time on Saturday.
The eighth inning that Lachance was right in the middle of effectively put the game away, as the Sooners added 4 runs to make it 9-0, which became the final score not too long after.
OU’s show of force got started way back in the first inning, when Lachance scored right after his apparent injury on Trey Gambill’s 2-out, 2-strike, 2-run double that put the Sooners up 2-0.
While the Oklahoma offense was busy early and late, Sooners pitching silenced those Crimson Tide bats, with left-hander Cord Rager tossing 7 shutout innings while allowing only 3 hits. Rager didn’t walk anybody and struck out 8, then righty LJ Mercurius finished things off with 2 shutout innings, giving up 2 hits and striking out 2.
Oklahoma is now in strong position in Omaha while Alabama is playing for its life. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about both teams’ chances to hoist the national title trophy, along with the odds for those 6 other teams who are vying for college baseball’s biggest prize:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
