Sooners Clinch First Trip to World Series in 15 Years

Originally Published: Jun 14, 2010 9:45 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia – Monday was a banner night for the OU baseball team, which clinched its first trip to the College World Series since 1995 with an 11-0 victory over Virginia in the third game of the series.

The Sooners were dominant both on the mound and at the plate. Bobby Shore (10-4) gave up just four hits in eight innings of work, and he and Ryan Duke combined to hand the Cavaliers their first shutout in 142 games.

While Shore was keeping Virginia at bay, OU’s recent power surge continued. And for the second game in a row, Cody Reine was the catalyst.

After hitting two home runs in Sunday’s contest, Reine launched a three-run bomb in the top of the first to give the Sooners a quick 3-0 lead. Cameron Seitzer stretched that lead to four with a solo homer in the second, and OU chased starter Branden Kline (5-1) after only 1.2 innings of work.

Tyler Ogle continued the home run parade with a solo shot in the fifth, and the Sooners manufactured more runs in the sixth. Chris Ellison connected on an RBI single, and Garrett Buechele finally registered his first hit of the series with a two-run double to give OU a commanding 8-0 lead.

Reine brought everything full circle in the eighth inning when he finished the game’s scoring with another three-run home run, his second of the day and fourth of the series.

The Sooners gave the Cavaliers a few dubious firsts on the night. In addition to handing them their first shutout in more than two years, OU also became the first team to beat Virginia in back-to-back games all season.

The Sooners are also the only team to score more than 10 runs off UVA’s talented pitching staff two different times. The Cavs gave up double-digit runs in only three games all season.

OU will now move on to the College World Series for the first time since 1995, where it will face South Carolina at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Super Regional round was full of upsets, as only three of the top eight seeds advanced to the World Series.