University of North Carolina Athletics
Monday, June 22
Omaha, Neb.
7 PM ET
North Carolina
54-14-1
2
vs
13
Oklahoma
43-23
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 14 | 1 |
| North Carolina | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
Photo by: AINSLEY E. FAUTH
Sooners Beat Tar Heels, 13-2, To Claim NCAA Title
June 22, 2026 | Baseball
OMAHA, NEB.— Oklahoma scored runs in five consecutive innings and topped North Carolina, 13-2, to win the 2026 NCAA title in the third and final game of the College World Series championship series on Monday night at Charles Schwab Field.
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Kyle Branch went 3-for-4 with six RBI and Jaxon Willits was 3-for-4 with a double, two walks and two RBI to lead the offensive onslaught for the Sooners.
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With the victory, the Sooners captured their third NCAA championship and first in 32 years, joining OU's 1951 and 1994 teams. Oklahoma finished the season 43-23. Carolina completed the year 54-14-1 and fell a win short of its first national title.
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Oklahoma scored two runs in the second inning, one in the third and three in the fourth to take command with a 6-1 lead. With another run in the fifth and two in the sixth, the Sooners put the game out of reach before adding four insurance runs in the eighth.
"Obviously, that's a tough loss, but, first of all, I want to congratulate Oklahoma," said Tar Heel head coach Scott Forbes afterward. "Heck of a ball team. They deserved it. They played well tonight. They earned it. Congratulations to Skip [Johnson]. I've known him a long time. I have a lot of respect for him. This is the second time being in this game or in a national championship and they got it done. So a big congrats to them, their entire university. It's hard to do. And they got it done."
Freshman Jackson Rose (L, 5-1) made his first start since May 12 and went 2.2 innings while allowing six hits and three earned runs with five strikeouts to take the loss for UNC. LJ Mercurius (W, 7-7) entered the game with one out in the third inning and struck out five in 5.2 frames to pick up the win for OU.
How It Happened:
• For the third game in a row in the series, the Sooners grabbed an early advantage. In the top of the second inning, Branch's single to right field scored Dasan Harris, then a wild pitch by Rose allowed Dayton Tockey to score for a 2-0 OU lead.
• In the top of the third, Willits doubled down the left field line with one out before scoring on a single by Brendan Brock off McDuffie to make it 3-0.
• In the bottom of the third, Jake Schaffner singled up the middle and Owen Hull walked to put two runners on with one out. Gavin Gallaher followed with a single up the middle for his 10th RBI of the CWS, driving home Schaffner to cut the OU lead to 3-1. Mercurius then relieved Wesloski with runners on first and third and one out and got out of the jam.
• McDuffie issued back-to-back walks in the top of the fourth before Caden Glauber relieved him for his 30th appearance of the year and his second in two days after earning the win in relief in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Sooners. Glauber then walked the bases loaded with one out and walked Deiten Lachance to give OU a 4-1 lead. Willits followed with a two-run single to right for a 6-1 Sooner advantage.
• Dayton Tockey smacked a solo home run to right field in the top of the fifth to make the score 7-1.
• Oklahoma added two unearned runs in the sixth to go ahead, 9-1. Carolina scored in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 9-2, but OU tacked on four runs in the eighth frame to put the game out of reach.
• Carolina fell to 29-1 in 2026 when Glauber pitches.
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Kyle Branch went 3-for-4 with six RBI and Jaxon Willits was 3-for-4 with a double, two walks and two RBI to lead the offensive onslaught for the Sooners.
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With the victory, the Sooners captured their third NCAA championship and first in 32 years, joining OU's 1951 and 1994 teams. Oklahoma finished the season 43-23. Carolina completed the year 54-14-1 and fell a win short of its first national title.
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Oklahoma scored two runs in the second inning, one in the third and three in the fourth to take command with a 6-1 lead. With another run in the fifth and two in the sixth, the Sooners put the game out of reach before adding four insurance runs in the eighth.
"Obviously, that's a tough loss, but, first of all, I want to congratulate Oklahoma," said Tar Heel head coach Scott Forbes afterward. "Heck of a ball team. They deserved it. They played well tonight. They earned it. Congratulations to Skip [Johnson]. I've known him a long time. I have a lot of respect for him. This is the second time being in this game or in a national championship and they got it done. So a big congrats to them, their entire university. It's hard to do. And they got it done."
Freshman Jackson Rose (L, 5-1) made his first start since May 12 and went 2.2 innings while allowing six hits and three earned runs with five strikeouts to take the loss for UNC. LJ Mercurius (W, 7-7) entered the game with one out in the third inning and struck out five in 5.2 frames to pick up the win for OU.
How It Happened:
• For the third game in a row in the series, the Sooners grabbed an early advantage. In the top of the second inning, Branch's single to right field scored Dasan Harris, then a wild pitch by Rose allowed Dayton Tockey to score for a 2-0 OU lead.
• In the top of the third, Willits doubled down the left field line with one out before scoring on a single by Brendan Brock off McDuffie to make it 3-0.
• In the bottom of the third, Jake Schaffner singled up the middle and Owen Hull walked to put two runners on with one out. Gavin Gallaher followed with a single up the middle for his 10th RBI of the CWS, driving home Schaffner to cut the OU lead to 3-1. Mercurius then relieved Wesloski with runners on first and third and one out and got out of the jam.
• McDuffie issued back-to-back walks in the top of the fourth before Caden Glauber relieved him for his 30th appearance of the year and his second in two days after earning the win in relief in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Sooners. Glauber then walked the bases loaded with one out and walked Deiten Lachance to give OU a 4-1 lead. Willits followed with a two-run single to right for a 6-1 Sooner advantage.
• Dayton Tockey smacked a solo home run to right field in the top of the fifth to make the score 7-1.
• Oklahoma added two unearned runs in the sixth to go ahead, 9-1. Carolina scored in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 9-2, but OU tacked on four runs in the eighth frame to put the game out of reach.
• Carolina fell to 29-1 in 2026 when Glauber pitches.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: LJ Mercurius (7-7)
L: Rose, Jackson (5-1)
Batting:
2B: Jaxon Willits 1
HR: Dayton Tockey 1 ; Kyle Branch 1
RBI: Deiten LaChance 1 ; Jaxon Willits 2 ; Brendan Brock 1 ; Dasan Harris 1 ; Dayton Tockey 1 ; Kyle Branch 6
Base Running:
RUNS: Jason Walk 1 ; Camden Johnson 1 ; Jaxon Willits 2 ; Trey Gambill 1 ; Brendan Brock 2 ; Dasan Harris 2 ; Dayton Tockey 2 ; Kyle Branch 2
HBP: Camden Johnson 1
Batting:
RBI: Hull, Owen 1 ; Gallaher, Gavin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schaffner, Jake 1 ; Nunez, Jadyn 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
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RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
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