Reine homers twice as Oklahoma tops Virginia 10-7 and set up decisive game in super regional

Sooners win to set up deciding game with Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Cody Reine homered twice and drove in five runs and Oklahoma beat Virginia 10-7 Sunday to force a decisive third game in the Charlottesville Super Regional.

The teams will meet Monday night, with the winner heading to the College World Series.

Reine hit a three-run home run, his seventh, to cap a four-run first for the Sooners (48-16), and a two-run shot in the fifth after the Cavaliers had pulled to 8-7.

Virginia (51-13), trying to clinch its second consecutive trip to Omaha, squandered several chances for a big inning, likely leaving their hopes in the hands of freshman Brendan Kline on Monday. Kline pitched 5 1-3 strong innings in the decisive game of the Charlottesville Regional last Monday as Virginia beat St. John’s 5-3.

The Sooners will likely counter with Bobby Shore (9-4).

Reine, who had just six home runs and 31 RBIs coming into the game, set the tone for the must-win game for the Sooners in the first.

Oklahoma had already scored once to answer Virginia’s two runs in the top of the inning when Reine homered to right-center with two runners on against Robert Morey (9-4).

Virginia tied it in the third when a bases loaded, no outs situation yielded only sacrifice flies by Dan Grovatt and Steven Proscia, and the Sooners again answered with two in their half. As in the first game, they got help from some less-than-stellar defense by the Cavaliers.

Morey walked Garrett Buechele and Tyler Ogle to start the inning, and end his day. Cody Winiarski came on, struck out Reine and then got Caleb Bushyhead to hit a grounder up the middle that semed playable for shortstop Tyler Cannon. Instead, the ball glanced off his glove and into center field, allowing Buechele to score. Ogle came home on a sacrifice fly.

A two-out, three-run home run by Phil Gosselin in the sixth got Virginia within a run at 8-7, waking a sellout but sun-baked crowd at Davenport Field, but Ogle singled leading off the bottom of the inning against Winiarski and Reine again homered to right-center.

The Cavaliers had a chance in the bottom of the seventh to cut into the deficit, but reliever Jeremy Erben got John Hicks to ground into an inning-ending double play. He retired them in order in the ninth, the game ending on a called third strike.

Jack Mayfield (5-0) earned the victory after allowing three runs in 3 1-3 innings.