OMAHA, Neb. — Oklahoma freshman left-hander Cord Rager allowed three hits in seven innings, an injured Deiten Lachance hobbled around the bases after hitting a two-run homer, and the Sooners continued their postseason tear Saturday afternoon with a 9-0 victory over Alabama in a College World Series opener and an all-Southeastern Conference matchup at Charles Schwab Stadium Omaha.
The Sooners (39-22), who were not among the top 16 national seeds in the 64-team field for this year’s NCAA Division I tournament, advanced to play Monday against third-seeded Georgia (52-12), which beat sixth-seeded Texas 7-1 in another first-round pairing of SEC squads.
No. 7 Alabama (42-20) will face the Longhorns (45-14) in an elimination game Monday.
The Crimson Tide, who won two of three on the road against Oklahoma in April, were on their heels from the start in the program’s 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. He gave up five runs in six innings, and the Sooners added four more in the eighth against two relievers.