OU falls 4-1 in Norman Regional to UConn

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Luke Broadhurst hit a three-run home run behind eight strong innings from Connecticut starter Stephen Quigley and the Huskies upset No. 9 national seed Oklahoma on Saturday night at the Norman Regional.

Oklahoma (38-20) will play an elimination game against Duke (41-19) on Sunday. UConn (34-23) will play the winner in the nightcap. If the Huskies lose, a final championship game will be played on Monday for a berth in the super regionals.

The Huskies took a 1-0 lead off Oklahoma starter Braden Davis in the bottom of the third inning. Paul Tammaro and Broadhurst drew back-to-back two-out walks, and Korey Morton singled to left field to drive in Tammaro.

Broadhurst put UConn up 4-0 in the seventh after Caleb Shpur and Tammaro reached base with one-out singles, sending a 0-1 pitch over the fence in left for his seventh home run of the season.

The Sooners scored their only run in the top of the eighth when No. 9 hitter Kendall Pettis led off with his seventh homer of the season.

Quigley (6-3) allowed a run on seven hits and a walk, striking out two. Brady Afthim allowed a walk in the ninth before nailing down his eighth save this season.

Davis (9-4) took the loss. He surrendered three runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out 10.

UConn has made five appearances in the College World Series but none since 1979. The Huskies have won three regionals, most recently in 2022.

Oklahoma has made 11 CWS appearances with championships in 1951 and 1994. The Sooners were runners-up in 2022.