Oklahoma defeats North Carolina 9-3 in Game 1 of the MCWS finals | NCAA.com

Final: Oklahoma 9, North Carolina 3

With dozens of shirtless fans embracing the pouring rain in the outfield stands, Oklahoma has taken Game 1 of the MCWS Finals 9-3.

The finals started with a bang as Game 1 marked the first MCWS Finals game since 2003 where both teams scored multiple runs in the first inning. However, the Sooners' pitching staff shut the door after the first frame, holding North Carolina to just three hits and no runs over the remaining eight innings.

Skip Johnson's offense continued to stay red-hot, recording its third nine-run game since touching down in Omaha. Deiten LaChance led the charge with two homers and three RBIs, while five Sooners tallied multi-hit days, and only one went hitless.

Freshman Cord Rager earned the win for Oklahoma — his fourth win of the NCAA tournament, allowing just six earned runs in those four starts.

We will be back here for more end-to-end coverage of Game 2 at 2:30 ET as the Tar Heels will look to force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday.

Oklahoma pitching staff is rising to the occasion

Gavyn Jones Oklahoma baseball

As rain starts to come down over Game 1, lets look at some numbers for the Sooners' staff.

Freshman starter Cord Rager went five innings, allowing three earned runs, all in the first. This was his fourth start of the NCAA tournament, allowing three earned against Citadel, and blanking Kansas and Alabama in six-plus inning outings.

The crazy part? In his four previous starts before the tournament started, Rager allowed 18 combined runs, with at least four in each outing. This turnaround is not unique to Rager however, with other freshmen such as Xander Mercurius, tallying his best start of the season against No. 3 Georgia on Monday, June 15 en route to the MCWS Finals.

Following Rager's outing today, junior Gavyn Jones threw 2.1 scoreless innings with a season-high four strikeouts in his longest outing since April 4th. The Oklahoma pitchers have elevated their game on college baseball's biggest stage, and the Sooners sit just three outs away from taking Game 1 of the MCWS Finals.

Oklahoma 8, North Carolina 3 | End 8th

Another quick, scoreless inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha as the clouds have bottled up with six outs to go. OU's LJ Mercurius relieved Gavyn Jones for the final two outs of the hitless eighth inning for the Tar Heels. Tom Chmielewski will stay on the bump for North Carolina to start the ninth, trying to hold the deficit at five for his offense.

Oklahoma 8, North Carolina 3 | End 7th

North Carolina's Tom Chmielewski and Oklahoma's Gavyn Jones each strike out two in the seventh to post another scoreless inning as we enter the eighth. Chmielewski needed just 16 pitches to get through the middle of the Sooner lineup after taking over for Walker McDuffie, picking off Jaxon Willits before striking out Brendan Brock to end the top of the seventh.

For the Sooners, Jones has thrown two scoreless frames with three punch outs as the Tar Heels have been unable to get a runner around the bases since the first inning.

⛈️ Seventh-inning stretch weather update

As the organist leads Charles Schwab Field Omaha through the seventh-inning stretch, it looks like the clouds might finally burst over Game 1. According to the Weather Channel, there is a 93% chance of rain at 6 p.m. ET, with the chance of rain not dipping below 80% for the rest of the night.

We will keep you updated of any delays or scheduling changes as Oklahoma currently leads 8-3 in the seventh inning.

Oklahoma 8, North Carolina 3 | End 6th

The Sooners tack on one more powered by another extra-base hit to start the inning — Oklahoma's sixth extra-base hit of the game. A Jason Walk single drove in Dayton Tockey after Kyle Branch's sac-bunt advanced Tockey to third.

Entering the bottom of the sixth, Skip Johnson pulled starter Cord Rager for junior left-hander Gavyn Jones. Jones allowed two singles, but he closed out the inning striking out red-hot Owen Hull, stranding two Tar Heels on base. North Carolina has now stranded eight runners entering the seventh inning.

Oklahoma 7, North Carolina 3 | End 5th

We watched just our second scoreless inning of Game 1 after a jam-packed first four. Oklahoma's Jaxon Willits recorded the only hit of the inning with a leadoff double to right-center field. Walker McDuffie navigated out of the leadoff hit for North Carolina, and Oklahoma's Cord Rager has thrown four scoreless frames after allowing a three-run first inning.

UNC center fielder Owen Hull helped his pitcher close out the top of the fifth inning with this diving catch, leaving Willits stranded on third.

Oklahoma 7, North Carolina 3 | End 4th

As Carolina blue rose to their feet down the third base line preparing to escape a jam with two runners in scoring position and two outs, Kyle Branch roped his first hit of the MCWS through the middle of the infield, driving in both runners.

The Sooners popped the top, driving two more across home with two outs, led by stolen bases and wild pitches as they drove DeCaro out of the game in the fourth. DeCaro exited the start after allowing a season-high seven earned runs, as Walker McDuffie took the mound for the Tar Heels to navigate the final out of the top of the fourth inning.

Sooner nation is on their feet behind the first base dugout, now in control of a commanding four-run lead. OU's Cord Rager navigated a quick bottom of the fourth, walking one batter as his infield cleaned up the rest of the UNC batters.

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