OMAHA, Neb. – Winner-take-all on Monday.
Caden Glauber pitched five scoreless innings in relief and Jake Schaffner had a two-run triple to spark a three-run third as No. 5 North Carolina registered a 6-2 win over Oklahoma in front of 24,621 fans on Sunday afternoon in Game 2 of the 2026 College World Series Championship Series at Charles Schwab Field.
The Tar Heels (54-13-1) and the Sooners (42-23) will play for a national championship on Monday, June 22, at 6 p.m. CT.
“Great game against a very, very good team,” UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. “They give you a lot of challenges on both sides of the ball. They jumped on us quick. Our guys did a great job of just putting their head down and not panicking.”
OU started the scoring in the bottom of the first. Jason Walk had a leadoff single and moved to second on a walk to Camden Johnson. Walk and Johnson executed a double steal and an errant throw to second allowed Walk to score the game’s first run. Johnson came in on a one-out double by Jaxon Willits to give the Sooners a 2-0 edge.
UNC responded in the top of the third. Carter French drew a leadoff walk. Rom Kellis V hit a bouncer that took a big hop over the head of shortstop Willits for a base hit.
“They hit a ball really hard right at Jaxon,” OU head coach Skip Johnson said. “Looked like it was 115 miles an hour, and it took a bad hop on him. And he’s going to make that play — if that ball stays down he’ll make that play.”
Schaffner tripled into the right field corner to knock in French and Kellis to even the score at 2-2. Schaffner came home on a wild pitch to give the Tar Heels a 3-2 lead. UNC would leave the bases loaded in the third.
Owen Hull had a leadoff homer in the top of the fifth, his ninth of the season, to make it 4-2 and mark the end of the day for OU starter Xander Mercurius (4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 8 K, 92 P).
“He’s been so consistent,” Forbes said about Hull. “I don’t remember a player that has been that clutch. What he’s done in driving in almost 90 runs, it’s unbelievable. He just has a knack for the big hit. And that home run was a big hit because you know they’re going to make a run. They made a run at the end. And every run we can scratch for, we needed.”
UNC starter Ryan Lynch (4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K) threw two pitches in the bottom of the fifth and was forced to leave the game with an injury. Glauber entered and struck out the side.
The Tar Heels added some insurance in the seventh. Erik Paulsen had a one-out double and Cooper Nicholson homered to left, his 17th, to make it 6-2.
“Coach Forbes gave me the light on 3-0,” Nicholson said, “and I swung at a bad pitch. I should not have swung at that. I was just sticking through the at-bat, looking for something over the play. Got a breaking ball and swung at it.”
Glauber (12-0) pitched the final five innings with one hit, two walks and eight strikeouts. It was his 29th appearance of the season and UNC has won all 29 of those contests.
“When you play for the best team in college baseball,” Glauber said, “it’s pretty easy to go out there with the defense you have and the offense you have. Working with Coach Gaines and just throwing what he calls. He works so hard behind the scenes to know what type of pitch to throw in whatever count you’re in. So it looked pretty challenging, I guess, but with the defense we have and the team that we have, it was pretty easy.”
Paulsen went 3 for 5 with a double and one run. Schaffner and Nicholson both knocked in two for the Tar Heels. French drew four walks, setting a record for a Championship Finals game.
Trey Gambill and Brendan Brock both had one hit and one walk for the Sooners, who had their nine-game win streak halted.
“We’re excited,” Gambill said about Game 3 on Monday. “Obviously tough loss today. But I don’t think we overly care. We know that we still have the opportunity to win the national championship. So it’s going to be a fun atmosphere. We’re excited. Have a good meal tonight, good shower and be ready for tomorrow.”
Notes
- This will be the 13th winner-take-all championship game since the format changed in 2003. The team to win Game 1 is 4-8 in Game 3, while the team to win Game 2 is 8-4.
- North Carolina is looking for its first national championship. Oklahoma is hoping to claim its third title, having won in 1951 and 1994.
- The Tar Heels will be the home team in Game 3 on Monday.
- UNC has won three series this season after losing the opener. The Tar Heels won a home series with Boston College, won a road series at Clemson and rallied past USC at home in the Super Regionals.
- The Tar Heels have 54 wins this season, the most in the nation and the third-most in program history.
- UNC is 44-0 when leading after six innings, 47-0 when leading after seven innings and 49-0 when leading after eight innings.
- Both teams are 3-0 in elimination games in this year’s NCAA Tournament. OU had to beat The Citadel once and second-seeded Georgia Tech twice to win the Atlanta Regional. UNC had to beat USC twice after losing the opener of the Chapel Hill Super Regional and had to beat OU in Game 2 of the CWS Championship Series.
- Erik Paulsen was asked what it meant to get this win on Father’s Day after losing his father on July 4, 2025: “It meant a lot. Seeing my mom in the stands with my siblings, and my dad’s mom, my grandma, she was also in the stands today. It’s really awesome to see them out there. Obviously it’s very emotional. But I was glad we got to the win today and can’t wait to go out there tomorrow.”
- Paulsen was asked about managing his emotions: “My dad always brought me up as a strong kid. I was always around him, around adults when I was really young. It just made me mature really early. I kind of lost it in the dugout after the game today, after doing a couple of interviews. I just sat in the dugout and got a little emotional. That’s the first time I’ve broke down in a while. He just raised me to be a strong man. And I just try to carry that out every day.”
- OU has not had an at-bat with the bases loaded during the 2026 CWS.
- Jason Walk extended his hit streak to 14 games and his on-base streak to 22 games.