Oklahoma Sooners College World Series Game 2 vs. Georgia Preview: Game Notes, Broadcast Details & Stats

Game Information

- Oklahoma (39-22) vs. No. 3 seed Georgia (52-12)

- Start Time: 6 p.m. CT

- Location: Charles Schwab Field, Omaha, NE

Broadcast Details

- TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Kyle Peterson, Chris Burke, and Kris Budden)

- Radio: Sooner Sports Network via The REF 99.3 FM/1400 AM and 107.7 The Franchise in Oklahoma and on The Varsity Network app (Toby Rowland and Carly Murray)

What You Need To Know

- The Sooners advanced to the winners’ bracket with a dominant 9-0 shutout victory over No. 7 seed Alabama in their College World Series opener on Saturday. Freshman left-hander Cord Rager was outstanding, throwing seven innings of three-hit ball with eight strikeouts on just 88 pitches.

- Oklahoma is making its 12th College World Series appearance in program history — and second in the last five years — this week at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.

- The Sooners punched their ticket to Omaha by winning the Atlanta Regional and sweeping the Lawrence Super Regional, defeating No. 2 seed Georgia Tech on their home field and No. 15 seed Kansas on the road.

- OU’s postseason run has been fueled by a major offensive explosion. The Sooners are batting .346 with 19 home runs, 31 extra-base hits, and 79 runs scored across eight games. The pitching staff has been equally impressive, posting a 3.38 ERA with 72 strikeouts while not allowing a single opponent to reach double-digit runs.

- In the Lawrence Super Regional, Oklahoma cruised past Kansas, outscoring the Jayhawks 21-3. The offense stayed hot, hitting seven home runs in the series — led by Dayton Tockey and Trey Gambill. The pitching staff was dominant, holding Kansas to three runs on eight hits with 17 strikeouts and five walks.

- The Sooners powered their way through the Atlanta Regional with 11 home runs, 17 extra-base hits, and 49 runs scored over five games. The 15-man pitching staff recorded 45 strikeouts during the regional.

- For the season, Oklahoma is outscoring opponents 430-331. The pitching staff owns a 5.06 ERA with 606 strikeouts against 264 walks.

- The Sooners started the year with a program-record seven consecutive games scoring in double digits and have reached 10+ runs in 15 games this season, including four of the last 11 and two of the last four.

Sooners' NCAA Tournament History

- Oklahoma has now advanced to the College World Series 12 times in program history (1951, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2010, 2022, and 2026).

- This marks OU’s 43rd NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth consecutive trip. The Sooners are 108-87 all-time in NCAA postseason play and have won two national championships (1951 and 1994).

- In reaching its 12th College World Series, Oklahoma has won 15 regional titles and three Super Regionals in program history.

- The Sooners own a 19-18 all-time record at the College World Series and are 4-2 under head coach Skip Johnson.

Oklahoma's Dominating Win Over Alabama

- Freshman left-hander Cord Rager delivered another dominant postseason performance, throwing seven innings of shutout ball as Oklahoma rolled to a 9-0 victory over No. 7 seed Alabama in their 2026 College World Series opener.

- It marked OU’s seventh shutout of the season, third in program history at the CWS, and first since 1975. It was also the largest shutout victory in a College World Series opening game since 2002.

- The Sooners recorded their sixth consecutive double-digit hit game, while Rager posted a season-high 7.0 scoreless innings and tied his career high with eight strikeouts.

- Oklahoma jumped ahead early, scoring two runs in the first inning on Trey Gambill’s two-out, two-RBI double that scored Deiten Lachance and Jaxon Willits.

- Rager retired the side in order in the first, third, and fourth innings as the OU offense continued to apply pressure.

- Jason Walk extended the lead to 3-0 in the third, coming around to score after a leadoff walk and stolen base.

- Deiten Lachance, battling a rolled ankle, launched a 409-foot home run to left field in the sixth inning, scoring Camden Johnson and pushing the lead to 5-0.

- Rager didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning and finished strong, striking out the side in the seventh.

- The Sooners put the game away with a four-run eighth inning on five hits and a walk. Jaxon Willits started the rally with an RBI single, Brendan Brock added an RBI double, and Dasan Harris delivered a two-RBI single to make it 9-0.

- LJ Mercurius came on in the eighth and pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just two singles while striking out two to close out the shutout.

Tockey's Great Tournament Run

- Senior Dayton Tockey etched his name in Sooner lore with a dramatic 10th-inning walk-off home run against No. 2 Georgia Tech, clinching Oklahoma’s Super Regional berth.

- It was OU’s first walk-off win in the NCAA Tournament since 2008 and sent the Sooners to their first Super Regional appearance since 2022.

- Tockey was one of the standout performers in the Atlanta Regional, batting .438 (7-for-16) with three home runs, five RBIs, a team-high five walks, and six runs scored across five games.

- His hot streak continued in the Lawrence Super Regional, where he hit .375 (3-for-8) with two home runs and four RBIs.

- Across Oklahoma’s eight postseason games, Tockey is hitting .393 with a team-leading five home runs and nine RBIs. He owns a .964 slugging percentage, has homered in five of eight games, and has gone deep in three of the last four contests.

- A two-year Sooner and former JUCO product from Fort Worth, Texas, Tockey has appeared in over 70 games with 65 starts during his time at Oklahoma.

- The senior now has eight home runs on the season, with six of those coming in his last 10 games dating back to May 16.

- Since the final week of the regular season (10 games started), Tockey is batting .387 (12-for-31) with six home runs and 11 RBIs.

Lachance Delievers

- OU junior Deiten Lachance, a 6-5, 230-pound catcher from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, has been a driving force behind Oklahoma’s offensive surge in the second half of the season.

- Lachance hit his 12th home run since May 2 in OU’s College World Series opener against Alabama — the most in NCAA Division I during that span. It was his fourth home run of the NCAA Tournament.

- The junior had zero home runs entering the Vanderbilt series on April 9. Since then, he has blasted 16 home runs in 29 games, leading all Sooners.

- Lachance has been especially hot recently, homering in four of OU’s last five games, six of the last 10, and 12 of the last 17.

- On May 31 against No. 2 Georgia Tech, Lachance delivered a go-ahead grand slam in the fourth inning, helping the Sooners erase a six-run deficit to force a winner-take-all game. The next day in the regional championship, he put OU ahead early with a two-run homer in the first inning — his second home run in as many games against the Yellow Jackets.

- On May 16 against Tennessee, Lachance became the first Sooner since 2000 to hit three home runs in a single game.

Bats On Fire

- Oklahoma has exploded for 36 home runs over its last 14 games (since May 9), accounting for more than 40% of its season total of 84.

- The Sooners have recorded six games with three or more home runs during that stretch.

- OU’s offensive surge began in the Atlanta Regional, where they hit .359 with 49 runs on 66 hits, 11 home runs, 17 extra-base hits, and a .571 team slugging percentage. Five starters batted over .400 in the regional, led by shortstop Jaxon Willits at .500 (9-for-18).

- That momentum carried into the Lawrence Super Regional, as the Sooners posted a .329 team batting average with seven home runs and 21 runs scored across the two-game sweep.

- Oklahoma has been scoring in bunches throughout the postseason, recording eight innings of four or more runs across eight games while averaging 9.9 runs per contest.

- Dayton Tockey has paced the offense with five home runs in the NCAA Tournament. Trey Gambill and Deiten Lachance have each added four.

- Lachance leads the team with 13 postseason RBIs, while Dasan Harris is close behind with 12.

- Like Lachance, Harris has been on fire since early April. Over his last 29 games (since April 9), he is hitting .394 (39-for-99) with 22 RBIs, 19 runs scored, and 14 extra-base hits.

Pitching Gets The Job Done

- Oklahoma utilized 15 different pitchers to win the Atlanta Regional, tapping nearly every arm that made the trip. By contrast, the two-game sweep in Lawrence required just two starters and four relievers.

- Across eight postseason games, OU’s pitching staff has been outstanding — posting a 3.38 ERA, striking out 72 batters against 29 walks, and holding opponents to a .218 batting average while allowing just 27 earned runs.

- Freshman Cord Rager has been exceptional, throwing at least 6.0 innings in all three of his postseason starts. He has allowed just three runs on 11 hits with 22 strikeouts and one walk. The left-hander has recorded a career-best eight strikeouts in two of those three outings.

- Xander Mercurius has struck out 14 batters over two postseason starts, giving up six runs on 10 hits with five walks.

- RHP LJ Mercurius has been dominant out of the bullpen after starting 12 games during the regular season. In four postseason relief appearances, the junior has thrown 12.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing just eight hits with 12 strikeouts and three walks (.186 opponent batting average).

- After entering the postseason with only one career save, Mercurius has picked up three saves in four appearances.

- In the Atlanta Regional, head coach Skip Johnson started true freshmen in three consecutive games to reach the regional final: LHP Cord Rager, RHP Xander Mercurius, and RHP Nick Wesloski.

- Wesloski made his first career start in the rematch against The Citadel, tossing a career-high 7.0 innings with four strikeouts, three earned runs, and two walks.

- Closer Jackson Cleveland has been excellent in relief, striking out seven batters in 7.2 innings across three appearances. In Monday’s regional final win over Georgia Tech, the senior delivered a season-long 3.2 innings of scoreless, hitless ball with four strikeouts to earn his third win of the season.

Skip Johnson's 300 Career Wins And Counting

- OU head coach Skip Johnson earned his 300th career Division I victory with the Sooners’ regional-opening win over The Citadel on May 30.

- Johnson is in his ninth season leading Oklahoma. Since taking over as head coach prior to the 2018 season, he has compiled a 306-197 record, led the Sooners to five NCAA Tournament appearances, the 2024 Big 12 regular season title, the 2022 Big 12 tournament championship, and two College World Series berths (2022 and 2026). He previously spent the 2017 season on staff as an assistant coach.

- Johnson has more than 700 career wins as a head coach. He won 450 games at Navarro College (TX) before making the jump to Division I, where he has now won 306 games at Oklahoma. Prior to arriving at OU, he spent 10 seasons on staff at the University of Texas under legendary head coach Augie Garrido.

UP NEXT

- With a Monday win over No. 3 national seed Georgia in a winners’ bracket matchup, the Sooners would advance to the College World Series semifinals for the second time in five years and face one of Alabama, Georgia, or Texas on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT.

- With a loss on Monday, Oklahoma would play the winner of the Alabama-Texas matchup in an elimination game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT.

- Both games will be broadcast on ESPN.