The Alabama Crimson Tide opened their bid for a College World Series Title with a resounding 9-0 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. The Tide defeated OU two games to one early in the season in Norman, but had no answers for Oklahoma freshman left hander Cord Rager on Saturday afternoon.Over seven innings Rager held Bama to three singles with no walks, one hit batter, and struck out seven.
Tyler Fay started for the Tide and was touched for two runs in the top of the first, the only runs the Sooners would need on this day. Jason Walk led off for OU and after fouling off a trio of two strike pitches, singled to centerfield. After out one Denton Lechance hit a ground ball that the Tide couldn’t quite turn into a double play to end the inning, and was safe at first. Jaxon Willits hit a little bloop single in front of charging centerfielder Bryce Fowler to put two runners on. Trey Gambill blasted a double to deep center to score both men. A fly out ended the half-inning with a 2-0 Tide deficit. Rager set Bama down on nine pitches in the bottom half with two strikeouts and a weak pop out.
Fay allowed a single in the second but a strikeout and double play held the score. Johnny Lemm was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the second, but two more strikeouts and a fly ball ended the inning. Oklahoma used a rare Fay walk to Walk leading off the third. Walk stole second and moved to third on a single by Cam Johnson. A double play allowed Walk to score and Fay ended the inning by striking out Willits. Bama went down in order in the third and fourth on an assortment of weak pop outs and ground balls. Fay kept OU off the board in the 4th and 5th inning.
Bama had their best chance to make a game out of the contest in the fifth. Lemm and Eric Hines led off with sharp singles. After failing to bunt the two runners over on two tries, Brennen Holt rapped into a double play. A ground out by Luke Vaughn ended the only real threat the Tide had all day. Oklahoma used a hit batter and a long Lechance home run to put the game out of reach in the 6th inning with a 5-0 score. Fay struck out the next two batters and used a ground out to end the inning and his night, and possibly his Alabama career. The Tide will need to win a couple of games at least to see Fay back on the mound. Fowler singled off Rager in the 6th but that was all the Tide could manage.
Ashton Crowther replaced Fay to begin the 7th inning and had an easy three up three down frame. Rager ended his day in the bottom half by striking out the side, all swinging. Crowther got chased with two outs in the top of the 8th after allowing a walk, two singles, and a double. Evan Steckmesser was brought in and gave up a two run single and a double before recording the third out on a diving play by Jason Torres at third base. By then the Sooners had poured on four more runs to leave little doubt about the outcome of the game.
L J Mercurius took over for Rager in the 8th and allowed a lead off single to Holt. After a strikeout the Sooners turned their second double play of the game to end the inning. Sam Mitchell pitched the 9th for the Tide and set OU down in order with a strikeout and two ground outs. Justin LeBron lined a one out single in the ninth for Bama but the game ended after a strikeout a ground out.
The Tide hit 5-30 in the game, did not draw a walk, had one hit batter, struck out 10 times, and left four men on base. Lemm reached twice on a singe an hit by pitch. Fowler, LeBron, Hines, and Holt had the other Bama safeties, all singles. Fay took the loss and fell to 11-5 on the year, allowing six hits, two walks, five runs, and striking out six. The big right hander has 127 strikeouts on the year, leaving him one behind Wade LeBlanc for the schools single season record for punch outs in a season. In 2006 LeBlanc was 11-1 with 128 strikeouts.
Oklahoma finished 11-35 in the game, every starter but Kyle Branch had at least one hit, with three walks, one hit batter, eight strikeouts, and left three on base. The Sooners had four doubles an one home run among their hits. Rager improved to 6-3 with the win after allowing only three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts in his seven innings.
Oklahoma finished 11th in he SEC during the regular season, but have put things into another gear since the NCAA Tournament has begun. The Sooners will play the Georgia Bulldogs on Monday while the Tide will draw the Texas Longhorns after UGA took down the Horns on Saturday night. The Tide has shown a history of bouncing back after crushing losses and will need to do so again to stay alive in Omaha. Texas took two out of three from Bama in Austin earlier this season. I would think that Zane Adams will start of the Tide and that normal third game started Myles Upchurch would be available out of he bullpen based on how the game plays out.
Roll Tide
Bama Baseball Fever, Catch it!
