No. 5 Texas A&M headed to Omaha, Neb., with hopes of breaking a long-lived curse, but No. 12 Oklahoma had other plans in mind.
After a 13-8 loss to Oklahoma in Game 1 of the College World Series, it has been 29 years, since A&M has won a game on the biggest stage in college baseball, going 0-9 in the last nine games played.
The Sooners brought the heat in the early innings and made sophomore righty Nathan Dettmer’s day on the mound short-lived. The Sooners jumped out to a 5-0 lead with Dettmer allowing four hits, walking three batters and only punching one strikeout.
“They obviously took advantage,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “I think we gave up 19 free bases in the first four innings. We didn’t pitch well. We didn’t defend. We gave up a lot of free bases, and they got the big hits. Credit to them.”
The larger park served as no issue for the Aggies and Sooners, as they hammered two home runs each out of the park and combined for 21 runs, the most in a College World Series game at Charles Schwab Field. One of the moonshots was a grand slam by the Sooners’ freshman infielder Jackson Nicklaus, which made it a 12-3 ballgame.
“I didn’t know it was the third [grand slam] ever hit in this park,” Nicklaus said. “That heightened [the hit] a little bit.”
The nine-run deficit, the largest A&M has faced this season, proved to be a challenge, but not impossible. In the seventh, the Aggies got chippy.
“Credit to their pitchers for filling up the strike zone,” sophomore third baseman Trevor Werner said. “They did that all day. We know that the bats are going to come.”
Graduate shortstop Kole Kaler, Werner and sophomore first baseman Jack Moss each hit an RBI single to cut the Sooners’ lead to five. Graduate left fielder Dylan Rock followed suit with an RBI groundout, only trailing by four.
A&M’s bullpen combined for the remaining innings after Dettmer’s time on the mound, pitching 11 strikeouts and seven hits. The Sooners added another run in the ninth, but the Aggies’ offense lacked a late response to Oklahoma’s fiery start.
A&M will now face the loser of Notre Dame and Texas in Game 5 on Sunday, June 19 at 1 p.m. If the Aggies lose one more game, they will be eliminated from the 2022 College World Series.
“It stinks not getting to play tomorrow, although the rest is worthwhile,” Schlossnagle said. “The message is getting on a one-game win streak. We can either cower down, put our tail between our legs and go back to College Station or we can fight. My money is on our team fighting.”
