Oklahoma freshman left-hander Cord Rager allowed three hits over seven innings, and an injured Deiten Lachance hobbled around the bases after hitting a two-run homer, as Oklahoma continued its postseason tear with a 9-0 victory over Alabama in the College World Series on Saturday.

Sooners Advance to Next Round

The Sooners (39-22) advanced to play Monday against the winner of Saturday night’s game between Texas and Georgia. The Crimson Tide (42-20) will face the Texas-Georgia loser in an elimination game Monday.

Alabama, which won two of three on the road against Oklahoma in April, was on its heels from the start in its first CWS appearance since 1999. The Sooners put up two runs in the first inning against Tyler Fay (11-5), who grew up two hours west of Omaha in Doniphan, Nebraska.

Rager (6-3), who has gone at least six innings in each of his three NCAA Tournament starts, routinely got ahead of batters, striking out four of the first six he faced and allowing only one baserunner through four innings. With OU football coaching greats Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops looking on from a suite, Rager held Alabama hitless until John Lemm drilled his first pitch up the middle leading off the fifth and Eric Hines sent a ball down the third-base line.

Lachance, the 6-foot-5, 231-pound Canadian catcher, stayed in the game after he rolled his left ankle going into second base in the first inning. He drove a ball out to left for a 5-0 lead in the sixth, laboring during his trot around the bases and nearly making a full stop a few steps from the plate to raise his arms and pull them down with a clap.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.