OMAHA, Neb. – Cade Horton patted redshirt senior Trevin Michael on the back and reluctantly walked back to the dugout with Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson close behind.
As Michael, OU’s season-long closer, talked with redshirt sophomore catcher Jimmy Crooks on the mound of Charles Schwab Field, Horton held his head low while the sparse array of Sooner fans fans greeted him with a standing ovation. Horton didn’t want to exit the game in the eighth inning, but Johnson was going to pull him if Ole Miss garnered a base-runner.
Big ovation for @CadeHorton14 as he exits with one out in the eighth.📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/alq0J6gIyF
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) June 26, 2022
Once the right-hander allowed sophomore TJ McCants to drive a one-out single into center field, Johnson executed his plan accordingly. From that point on, Horton could only watch from the dugout as Michael surrendered an RBI single from sophomore Jacob Gonzalez to tie the game. Michael later threw two wild pitches which resulted in back-to-back Ole Miss runs.
Pulling Horton proved to be the difference in the game for the Sooners, as the Rebels (42-23) claimed their first College World Series national championship with a 4-2 victory over Oklahoma (45-24) Sunday. Horton finished the game with a career-high 13 strikeouts, four hits and two runs allowed in 7.1 innings pitched. His 13 punch outs were the most from any pitcher in a CWS finals game.
After the contest, the Norman native shook hands with Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco, who he decommitted from before his freshman season to come to Oklahoma. Previously displeased with his former decision, Bianco congratulated the once-Rebels commit for his record breaking performance, a sign the pair have moved past their differences.
“They just told me I did a hell of a job,” Horton said. “I have a lot of respect for those guys and they did a great job.”
Horton is the fourth pitcher since the NCAA’s 1999 tournament expansion with 10-plus strikeouts in two starts during the World Series. Instead of keeping the redshirt sophomore on the field, Johnson felt like Horton, who just recently recovered from Tommy John surgery, was near the end of his rope in the eighth inning.
“Yeah, he wanted to go back out that inning,” Johnson said. “(I told him) if one guy gets home we're gonna go to (Michael). We as coaches and pitching coaches have to take the ball out of his hand because he's going to go until he can't go anymore.”
Despite limited action this season, pitching only 53.2 innings in 2022, Horton showed off his stuff on the mound in the postseason. Since the start of the NCAA Gainsville Regional, the redshirt sophomore has pitched 30.3 innings, struck out 40 batters and posted a 2.82 ERA.
His dominance helped keep the Sooners alive during Game 2 when the lineup started off 1-for-18 until the top of the seventh inning. Horton retired the side in the first, third and fifth innings, holding the Rebels to a 5-for-29 clip in his time on the mound.
𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤, Cade📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/L0wzHkG0SE
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) June 26, 2022
Horton said in order to focus on taking it one pitch at a time, he stuck to his routine of breathing in between pitches which helped him keep his composure on the bump.
“I just started to do what I've been doing the last few starts, '' Horton said. “I was just taking it one pitch at a time. I just wanted to put my team in a position to win.”
Horton’s rising superstardom, which helped Oklahoma advance to its first CWS since 2010, might be enough for teams to consider drafting him in next month’s 2022 MLB Draft. With that, he’ll have to make the decision to stay in Norman or commit to the draft in the offseason.
And while the sting of watching Ole Miss dogpile on the mound, bask in the red confetti and hoist the trophy over its heads is still fresh, Horton isn’t worried about the future. He’s just reminiscing over the historic season he had with his teammates.
“This team is second to none,” Horton said after the game. “I’ll remember these guys for the rest of my life. It's a close knit group in there and there are a lot of young guys, and then there's older guys … all those guys that have been around for a while. It sucks seeing this be one of their last games in the uniform.”
