Oklahoma vs – No. 5 North Carolina and Oklahoma hit the winner-takes-all Game 3 of the 2026 College World Series championship Monday, June 22 at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. After UNC’s Game 2 win and Oklahoma’s hot stretch, the live action swung through pitching changes, ho
Omaha, Neb. — By the time North Carolina finally got a run across in the top of the seventh, the score had already done most of the talking. The Tar Heels had runners on first and third with two outs when Owen Hull delivered an infield single, cutting the deficit to 9-2.
But the inning didn’t turn into a comeback. Gavin Gallaher popped out to catcher Deiten Lachance with runners on second and third, and Oklahoma still carried a 9-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning.
It was a fitting snapshot of what the championship Game 3 had felt like at times: sparks, then silence—especially after Oklahoma’s offense began to stack runs earlier in the game.
After splitting the first two games in their best-of-three series, No. 5 North Carolina and Oklahoma were set to face off Monday. June 22 in the winner-takes-all Game 3 of the championship of the 2026 College World Series at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha. Nebraska. UNC’s turnaround from Game 1 to Game 2 had been immediate. The Tar Heels won 6-2 on Sunday. June 21. powered by home runs from Cooper Nicholson and Owen Hull and by Caden Glauber. who threw five innings of one-hit ball.
Game 3 came with the larger story already in place. Oklahoma had won nine games in a row before Sunday’s loss. including a 9-3 victory over North Carolina in Game 1. The Sooners were chasing their third all-time national championship and first since 1994. North Carolina, meanwhile, was trying for its first-ever national title after falling in the CWS championship in 2006 and 2007.
The game began quickly, with Oklahoma on the board first in the top of the second. Kyle Branch took advantage of a runner in scoring position for an RBI single into right field, bringing Dasan Harris home from second to give the Sooners a 1-0 lead.
Oklahoma doubled its advantage later in that same inning. With runners on first and third and one out. the Sooners pushed for more. and after Dayton Tockey scored from third following a pitch that went low and inside to Jason Walk—one the North Carolina catcher. Colin Hynek. couldn’t corral—Kyle Branch moved from first to second. Oklahoma stretched the lead to 2-0.
North Carolina threatened in the bottom of the third, but Oklahoma’s defense held tight. After Gavin Gallaher hit a single into center field to bring home Jake Schaffner and move Owen Hull to third. the Tar Heels cut Oklahoma’s lead to 3-1. North Carolina challenged a call after a late defensive sequence involving a throw to third. but the decision was upheld after a brief video review.
Oklahoma kept answering. In the top of the third, Brendan Brock delivered an RBI single into center field, scoring Jaxon Willits from second base to make it 3-0 as the Sooners carried the lead into the bottom of the third.
Pitching changes started to define the middle innings. The first came at 2 outs in the third, when North Carolina pulled starter Jackson Rose and brought in Walker McDuffie. McDuffie struck out five batters in 2 2/3 innings, and his run of control mattered as Oklahoma tried to break the game open.
By the time Oklahoma reached the fifth inning, it was doing more than managing leads.
Dayton Tockey led off the fifth with a solo homer that traveled 383 feet to right field—his ninth home run of the season—and pushed the Sooners’ lead to 7-1.
North Carolina couldn’t consistently chip away. In the bottom of the fourth. LJ Mercurius struck out two of the three batters to keep the Tar Heels from getting closer. Even after North Carolina allowed a two-run single from Jaxon Willits. Oklahoma still added three runs in the fourth to extend the lead over North Carolina to 6-1.
The Tar Heels made another pitching change after Caden Glauber was pulled from the game for North Carolina. The shift followed his inability to record an out after giving up one hit and one walk. leaving him with no earned runs “for now” in the game while his strike profile had dropped—he had 45 of 65 pitches called strikes yesterday. but only two of his seven were strikes in this outing. Matthew Matthijs came in to relieve.
North Carolina’s sequence didn’t stabilize immediately. Glauber’s entrance had a rough start: he threw six straight balls. walking Camden Johnson after inheriting a 2-0 count to load the bases. then walking Deiten Lachance on four consecutive pitches to bring home a run. Oklahoma still had more in store. with Jaxon Willits ripping an RBI single into right field to bring home two more runs and extend the Sooners’ lead to 6-1.
On Oklahoma’s side, the bullpen did its share of work too. Earlier. after giving up a run to North Carolina. Skip Johnson changed the mound. taking out starter Nick Wesloski and bringing in LJ Mercurius. Wesloski struck out three and allowed five hits in 2 2/3 innings. Mercurius entered with a 4.64 ERA in 21 appearances this season, including 12 starts.
Mercurius recorded key outs, striking out Erik Paulsen and getting Cooper Nicholson to pop out to catcher Deiten Lachance after stepping in with runners on first and third and one out.
Still, as Oklahoma’s lead grew, the game’s drama shifted toward whether North Carolina could ever swing the momentum back through the later innings.
The score widened in the sixth inning. After NC allowed two more runs, the Tar Heels went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, with the standout moment coming from a diving catch in right field from Dasan Harris to record the first out of the inning.
Then Oklahoma added the kind of run production that makes late rallies feel like math instead of hope.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Kyle Branch lined an opposite-field single into right field to bring two runs home. Dasan Harris was thrown out at third base, but the two runners already crossed the plate. Oklahoma led 9-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
North Carolina did get movement at the plate—just not the kind that could erase the gap. In the bottom of the sixth, with a single from Owen Hull, North Carolina still couldn’t generate more. LJ Mercurius struck out Gavin Gallaher to end the inning. and Oklahoma held a 7-1 lead heading into the sixth inning—before the later two-run surge made the score 9-1.
In the seventh inning, after North Carolina scored again on Hull’s infield single to make it 9-2, the Tar Heels couldn’t capitalize. With runners on second and third and two outs, Gallaher popped out to Deiten Lachance to end the frame.
The game had already been defined by Oklahoma’s early control and North Carolina’s pitching turnover trying to stop the bleeding. Another key moment came in the top of the fourth when Oklahoma turned what looked like a normal at-bat into a quick scoring burst: after a runner reached. Oklahoma’s offense kept moving until the Sooners added three runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-1.
Oklahoma’s lineup and pitching setup were part of the bigger picture heading into Game 3. North Carolina stuck with its top of the order in Jake Schaffner-Owen Hull-Gavin Gallaher. with Cooper Nicholson hitting in the five-hole for Scott Forbes. Oklahoma countered with Nick Wesloski on the mound. Charles Schwab Field Omaha hosted the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Monday, June 22.
The broadcast and betting wrapper also surrounded the game. Game 3 was set to air on ESPN. with streaming options including the ESPN app requiring a valid cable login and Fubo offering a free trial. Odds from BetMGM as of Monday. June 22 had North Carolina favored with a spread of North Carolina (-1.5). an over/under of 10.5 runs. and a moneyline of North Carolina (-160) | Oklahoma (+125). A prediction listed North Carolina 7, Oklahoma 5.
As the championship series pressed into its final game. the result stood to define not just a team. but a decade of waiting. Oklahoma was aiming for its first national title since 1994, while North Carolina was chasing its first-ever. Monday’s Game 3—played in Omaha after the series split its first two games—had delivered the kind of tension both teams needed. even as the scoreboard kept telling a harsher story for the Tar Heels.
By the time North Carolina made it 9-2 in the seventh, Oklahoma’s lead had already been too firm, too built to take down with a couple of swings. The Tar Heels never found the inning that changed everything—just enough contact to remind everyone how close one more sequence could have been.
Oklahoma vs North Carolina College World Series CWS finals Game 3 live score Omaha Charles Schwab Field