Glauber Shines As Tar Heels Top Sooners, 6-2, To Force Game 3 Of CWS Championship Series
from Matt Bowers, with www.goheels.com
OMAHA, NEB.—Caden Glauber pitched 5.0 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out eight, to lead North Carolina to a 6-2 win over Oklahoma in the second game of the College World Series championship series on Sunday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field.
Carolina’s win forced a decisive third game in the championship series and improved it to 54-13-1 in 2026. Oklahoma’s nine-game winning streak came to an end as it fell to 42-23. UNC has won 11 consecutive games after a loss, the longest streak in the nation, last losing back-to-back games in the first week of March.
The rubber match of the best-of-three series for the NCAA championship is scheduled for Monday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Carolina held the Sooners scoreless for the final eight innings, their longest stretch without a run in 11 NCAA Tournament games in 2026.
Glauber (12-0) allowed just one hit and two walks, picking up his team-leading 12th win and coming up big as the Tar Heels moved to 29-0 when he pitches. He improved to 2-0 with a save in the College World Series.
“First time facing that lineup, so you don’t really know what to expect,” Glauber said. “Going into today, Coach [Bryant] Gaines did say that you’ve got to execute those 0-2 pitches. He said it’s going to be easy to get the two strikes with our pitching staff that we have. But just kind of learning from yesterday, you gotta make those two-strike pitches and they’re going to chase.”
Sophomore Ryan Lynch started on the mound and allowed two runs in the first inning, then settled down and fanned five with a walk while giving up three hits before giving way to Glauber in the fifth.
Righthanded freshman Xander Mercurius (1-3) pitched well but took the loss for OU, striking out six of the first seven batters he faced before running into trouble in the third inning. He gave up five hits and four earned runs while striking out eight in 4.0 innings.
Erik Paulsen went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double and a run scored, while Jake Schaffner and Cooper Nicholson each had two RBI to lead the Tar Heel offense.
Second baseman Gavin Gallaher ended the game by starting an impressive, 4-3 double play to stop a last-ditch Sooner rally in the bottom of the ninth.
“They jumped on us quick,” Tar Heel head coach Scott Forbes said. “Our guys did a great job of just putting their head down and not panicking. And we talk about it all the time, being process-oriented, next-play mentality, just play every pitch. When you look up, whatever happens, happens. We did a good job of that.
“Glaub came in was lights out for us. A big, big swing of the bat, obviously by Owen Hull with that home run, extending the lead. And then Cooper Nicholson, that ball was touched. And I thought for a second he was going to catch it with the wind. So that was big for us as well. We made plays defensively like Gavin turning that double play at the end.
“So excited for our team. This is what it’s all about. This is why you work so hard to play in a night game, national championship game. So we’re excited about that opportunity. We feel like it’s an honor and a privilege to be in that moment.”
How It Happened:
• For the second game in a row, OU struck quickly. Jason Walk led off the bottom of the first with a single to center, then Camden Johnson drew a four-pitch walk from Lynch. Both runners advanced on a double steal and then Walk scored on a throwing error by Tar Heel catcher Colin Hynek. Jaxon Willits then smacked a double off the wall in right-center to score Johnson for a 2-0 lead.
• The Tar Heels took the lead in the top of the third. Carter French walked to start the inning, then Rom Kellis V smoked a single for Carolina’s first rally of the game. Schaffner’s two-run triple down the rightfield line tied the score at 2-2. He then scored on a wild pitch for a 3-2 UNC advantage.
• Owen Hull led off the fifth with a no-doubt, solo home run to right field to make the score 5-2 Tar Heels.
• Nicholson made it 6-2 on another solo homer in the top of the seventh.