Oklahoma baseball beats UNC, 9-5, forces 'If Game' on Monday in Chapel Hill Regional

They’re going the distance at the Chapel Hill Regional between Oklahoma and North Carolina. The Sooners forced the if game on Sunday night, getting offensive production from an unlikely cast of characters in an 9-5 win over host UNC. 

The bottom of the line up composed of Dasan Harris, Drew Dickerson and Dawson Willis went 5-for-10 with three home runs, five RBIs, five runs scored and four walks. 

Dylan Crooks wiggled out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth unharmed and closed the door in the ninth. 

As No. 1-seeds continue to expire, Oklahoma carries with it momentum into the winner-take-all Game 7 after scoring 26 runs on Sunday with its backs against the wall and the season on the line. 

First pitch for Monday’s winner-take-all match up is 2:05 p.m. Oklahoma will be the home team. 

Barfield, Hitt and Bodin limit Diamond Heels bats

The Sooners foursome on the mound each played a part in Oklahoma’s victory on Sunday night. 

Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson turned to Jaden Barfield out of the gates and the freshman was sensational, going four innings and allowing just two hits and striking out three.  

After the Tar Heels got two on in the first, Barfield responded with back-to-back punchouts. He worked around an error in the third. His lone mistake came in the fourth to the hottest hitter in the mighty Carolina line up. And Gavin Gallaher escorted it out to deep centerfield.

Jamie Hitt gave up the lead in the fifth when Gallaher shot a two-run double into left-center. But never let the game get out of hand. After issuing a one out walk in the sixth, Hitt initiated an inning-ending double play off the bat of Sam Angelo. 

Jason Bodin worked a clean frame in the seventh before hitting a batter and allowing a double to start the eighth. 

Setting the stage for Dylan Crooks 

With two on and no out in the eighth, Johnson turned to Dylan Crooks for the final six outs. 

Crooks walked Sam Angelo after a 10-pitch battle to load the bases. And responded as he has all season, striking out Carter French and escaped with a pair of fly balls to each of the corner outfield positions. 

Whew. Exhale. Do whatever that is you need to do. Go ahead. You’re allowed. 

Those are the moments that make playoff baseball so incredible. 

Crooks survived. As did the Sooners. 

Sooners bats are heating up

Something has happened. Whether it be similar to Sooners 2022 run to Omaha when Maurucci supplied the Sooners with fresh bats to start postseason play. They did this season as well.

Or if you’re simply starting to see fruits of a laborious season-long battle with the stick come to pass. Oklahoma is stacking quality innings offensively. 

Oklahoma entered the NCAA Tournament scoring five runs or less in 12 of its final 13 games. In four games at Boshamer Stadium, they’ve now scored 38 runs.  

The Sooners scored 17 runs in Sunday morning’s elimination game against Nebraska, tying a season high for runs and hits (18). Eight of the 18 hits went for extra bases. 

Sunday night it was Dawson Willis’ third inning solo shot that started the party. 

After Gallaher’s two-run double gave North Carolina a 3-2 lead in the fifth, Drew Dickerson blasted a two-run shot to center, giving Oklahoma the lead back, 4-3. His second home run of the regional. 

The Tar Heels defense extended the fifth with its second error of the game and once again Oklahoma came up with a big swing. This time it was Jaxon Willits ripping a two-run double to left. Oklahoma led 7-3 after six. 

Easton Carmichael (again!) shot an RBI single through the right side of the infield in the seventh. Dasan Harris added extra insurance with his second home run of the year with two outs in the eighth. 

Up and down the line up, Oklahoma keeps finding production in timely situations. That’s how you win to force an ‘if game’ out of the loser’s bracket. That’s how you win regionals. 

But no one is more surprising than Dasan Harris 

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that could have predicted Dasan Harris as the breakout star of the Sooners stay in Chapel Hill. 

Harris has almost as many hits (7) this weekend as he did since April 1 (11 hits). 

He singled ahead of Dickerson’s bomb in the sixth. He drew a leadoff walk that ignited the Sooners seventh. His second home run of the season put an exclamation point on the night in the eighth. 

An unlikely candidate if you were to put together a list of names. But now a welcomed – VIP – guest to the party.