OMAHA, Neb. - Oklahoma steamrolled North Carolina 13-2 in a winner-take-all Game 3 at Charles Schwab Field on Monday, securing the Sooners' first baseball national championship since 1994. The blowout capped a nine-game NCAA postseason streak and wrapped up a season in which Oklahoma regrouped after a late regular-season slide.
Sooners Blow It Open Early
For a while, Game 3 had the feel of a tight, final-night drama. Then the fourth inning happened. Deiten LaChance drew a bases-loaded, four-pitch walk that forced in a run and kicked open the door on North Carolina's pitching plans, the turning point in what quickly became a rout. The full scoring sequence and 13-2 final are laid out in the game recap and box score at CBS Sports.
Relief Gem and Willits' Hardware
Freshman Nick Wesloski handled the opener role for Oklahoma before LJ Mercurius came on and slammed it shut, working 5 2/3 innings of four-hit relief that iced the Tar Heels and let the Sooners' lineup go to work. Jaxon Willits, who delivered key hits throughout the finals, was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player after the victory. The box score and postgame notes with full stat lines are available via MLB.com and the team's coverage on Oklahoma Athletics.
Tar Heels' Ace Falters Amid Pitch-Clock Drama
North Carolina starter Caden Glauber, who came into the weekend at 12-0 in decisions, saw that perfect run end on Monday. He was hit with a pitch-clock violation by home-plate umpire Billy Van Raaphorst, a sequence that fed into the Tar Heels' unraveling. The outing and its impact on North Carolina's record are detailed in reporting from The New York Times.
The Sooners finished the year 43-23 after a regular season that included a late skid, then ripped off nine straight NCAA tournament wins with a heavy reliance on true freshmen, who started 11 of 13 postseason games. That roster construction and the step-by-step postseason results are tracked in the program's archives and game notes at Oklahoma Athletics.
Program-wise, the victory gives Oklahoma its third baseball national championship, joining titles in 1951 and 1994, and adds to the university's broader championship tally. Athletics officials noted it is the school's first men's-sport national title since 2018. Celebrations spilled across the field in Omaha, while national recaps carry full stat lines and postgame context at MLB.com and CBS Sports.
