Cade Horton trotted back to the Sooners’ dugout holding his crimson glove close to his chest after finishing his 100-pitch day.
As he approached the bench, the redshirt freshman absorbed the admiration from the Oklahoma fans inside Charles Schwab Field and sat down. Horton had just struck out a career-high 11 batters, the most by an OU pitcher in a College World Series game since Mark Redman had 11 against Arizona State in 1994. He also allowed two runs and five hits in six innings pitched.
Horton’s career performance was the guiding force in Oklahoma’s (44-22) 6-2 win over Notre Dame (41-16) in the second round of the CWS on Sunday, moving the Sooners one win away from the championship series. In just his 13th appearance on the mound this season, Horton showcased his fastball, change-up and a newfound slider that he developed a day before the Big 12 Championship.
🅺ade Horton@cadehorton14 #COMPETE | #OklahOMAHA pic.twitter.com/6BbqWi0Xhs
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) June 20, 2022
Coming off Tommy John surgery to repair his UCL, which sidelined him for the entire 2021 season, Horton’s quick development is paying dividends for OU’s rotation.
“I think he’s just going to get better,” OU coach Skip Johnson said. “I really don’t know if he’s ready even yet, but his freshman fall was incredible. We were throwing two innings a week, and … (he was) one of the best freshman pitchers I’ve been around ever. I can remember things that he did in that fall like it was yesterday.
“Then the adversity hit him, and at first it was tough on him … to see what (Horton) did and what he’s done with our training staff, going in and putting in the work everyday has been incredible.”
Despite allowing a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to Notre Dame catcher David LaManna, Horton held the Fighting Irish offense scoreless during the first five innings. His pitching was also aided by plays from the outfield and infield.
The highlight-reel grabs started when redshirt sophomore infielder Blake Robertson corralled a first inning pop fly that flipped him into Notre Dame’s dugout. Along with Robertson, who finished the game 0-for-4 on offense, freshman infielder Wallace Clark added to OU’s plays when he climbed the ladder on third base in the top of the eighth inning to field a line drive.
Unreal, @Robertsonblake3📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/NmEZ41MQhD
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) June 19, 2022
𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗯 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮! 🧗♂️ @wallaceclark7 pic.twitter.com/LJgQjy62XW
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) June 20, 2022
Despite sitting in the dugout for Wallace’s play, Horton noted it’s easier to settle in on the mound because he has an athletic defense behind him.
“I feel like I'm honestly at this point starting to get spoiled by all these great catches,” Horton said. “But, (Robertson’s catch) did settle me down and made me more comfortable. This defense behind me is incredible … They all make great plays for me and that makes it easy to challenge the hitter.”
While Horton held Notre Dame’s offense at bay, Oklahoma’s offense continued its hot streak. Redshirt sophomore infielder Peyton Graham and redshirt senior outfielder Tanner Tredaway combined to go 7-for-8 with two RBIs and three runs, extending both of their hit streaks to 16 games. Graham is the first player since Barry Bonds to notch four hits and two stolen bases in a CWS game.
The pair’s hot streak is credited to Johnson’s two-strike approach, which coaches players to chase the pitch on a two-strike count, that he instilled since the beginning of the season.
“Yeah, that's our motto,” Tredaway said. “We want to bow for our team, especially with runners in scoring position. A lot of us – I know I do choke up a little bit – just try to keep it short. At that point that's for your team with two strikes. We just try to put in play, and I was able to do that today.”
As Oklahoma continues to benefit off the emergence of Horton and its offensive firepower, both sides of the ball are inching the Sooners closer to their dreams of a national championship. OU stands one win away from the championship series and will face the winner of Notre Dame/Texas A&M at 1 p.m. on Wednesday in Omaha on ESPN.
“Our identity is to try to create as much chaos as we can on the offensive side and our pitches get a little bit better every time we go out (and do that),” Johnson said. “I think our pitching has helped our offense which has really helped our pitching because it's helped those guys just continue to attack.”
