Omaha, Neb. - With runners at the corners and one out in the top of the sixth inning, Oklahoma had a chance to break the 0-0 tie and gain momentum against Ole Miss in Game 2 of the College World Series championship series.
With freshman Jackson Nicklaus on third and redshirt sophomore Kendall Pettis on first, freshman John Spikerman planned on attempting a squeeze bunt to get the Sooners on the board. Spikerman dropped a bunt into the infield scoring Nicklaus and reached second after Ole Miss pitcher freshman Hunter Elliott threw the ball away.
For a moment OU led 1-0 with two runners in scoring position and no outs, and had the game in its hands, until it didn’t.
Oklahoma's run on this play was taken off the board after the batter was called for interference at first base. pic.twitter.com/OfTiZtNHkc
— ESPN (@espn) June 26, 2022
The play was overturned after the umpiring crew ruled Spikerman interfered with Ole Miss senior first baseman Tim Elko during a review. Spikerman was out at first, the run was negated and Pettis, and Nicklaus returned to first and third, respectively. Any ounce of excitement the Sooners had was drowned out by the chants from the throng of Rebel fans in attendance.
In the bottom half of the inning, Ole Miss capitalized on its overwhelming fan presence and controlled the energy inside Charles Schwab Field.
The stadium erupted when Jacob Gonzalez crushed a ball thrown right down the middle by redshirt freshman Cade Horton for a solo shot deep to right field, giving the Rebels a 1-0 lead. Oklahoma (45-24) was never able to recover from the replay chaos as its season ended with a 4-2 loss to Ole Miss (42-23), which captured its first national title in program history.
Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson was furious with the call. He marched onto the field and gave the umpires a mouth full for nearly a full minute before finally letting up, and returning to his perch inside the dugout.
Regarding the ruling at first base and why the runners were returned to their bases, the NCAA rule book reads a batter is out when: “the batter interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first base,” and “if the batter-runner has not touched first base at the time of interference, all runners shall return to the base last occupied at the time of the pitch.”
During his postgame media availability Johnson said he has great respect for umpires, however, he expressed frustration with the time it took to review the play. He also provided insight into his take on the importance of keeping umpires in baseball.
“If we take out the human element of the umpires, this game is never going to be any good,” Johnson said. “The rule says that you have to (review) within 30 seconds, that’s what the rule says. And maybe there’s some discrepancies with it, but that’s also what I love about the game – the human element. I have tons of respect for the umpires.
“If we mess with the fabric of the game by getting computerized umpires, I think I’ll just go fishing.”
While the overturned call was the turning point of the contest, the deciding factor came in the eighth inning. Horton, who turned in an all-time performance allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out 13, the most in a CWS championship series game, was relieved by graduate pitcher Trevin Michael. Michael added to the chaos by throwing two wild pitches which resulted in two Rebel runs.
While it wasn’t his best outing, Michael was a vital part of the Sooners’ NCAA Tournament run. Johnson told Michael postgame he loved him and he wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to close out the season on the mound. His message to his closer was similar to the one he targeted to the whole team in the locker room postgame.
“You can accomplish anything you put your mind to, you can be anybody you want to be if you put your mind to it,” Johnson told his team. “The game doesn’t care how you feel, that's why the details in the game are so important and you’ve got to keep fighting for every inch that you get in baseball. You’ve got to continue to work, you did a great job, I love you and I'm really proud of you.
“We’ve got to continue to grow as a team, I’m just happy in that sense. I’m pissed off about losing, I’m not happy about that.”
The Sooners played a chaotic brand of baseball throughout the entire season and were very successful at it up until their final series. They lived by stealing bases and laying down bunts rather than power, and they died by it Sunday. OU’s offense finished the championship series 6-for-50 at the plate with zero home runs.
Although the Sooners’ bats were ice cold throughout the weekend, Johnson’s team stayed in games until the very end.
What a ride. What a season. Boomer Sooner, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀. FINAL | OM 4, OU 2. pic.twitter.com/pRdpZEH7QB
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) June 26, 2022
“They're gonna fight, that's one thing that they've done all year long,” Johnson said. “They fought and battled, that's a part of our DNA and it's what the University of Oklahoma has taught them to do, and our culture has taught them to do. I’m really proud of those guys.
“That's the learning lesson in it and we’ve got to continue to fight and understand the details of the game, and fight for what's right in the game and play as hard as you can because it respects you.”
