Oklahoma vs. Citadel

ATLANTA (Interstat) — The Oklahoma Sooners and the Citadel Bulldogs will meet Sunday in a decisive elimination game of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship at Atlanta, Ga. First pitch is scheduled for the afternoon.

The winner-today’s game will advance in the double-elimination tournament.

Sunday’s contest is a rematch of Saturday’s game, which Oklahoma won 8-3. The Sooners, the visiting team on the scoreboard at the neutral site, enter with a 33-22 record. The Bulldogs, designated as the home team, are 36-25.

Oklahoma is coming off a 9-3 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday, a game in which starting pitcher Xander Mercurius took the loss. Citadel rallied for a 9-8, 10-inning victory over Illinois-Chicago on Saturday to stay alive in the tournament.

The weather forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with a game-time temperature near 80 degrees. The forecast also calls for a chance of isolated thunderstorms later in the evening, but conditions are expected to be clear for the start of the game.

Players to watch

For Oklahoma, right-hander Xander Mercurius is expected to start. In Saturday’s loss to Georgia Tech, the senior allowed five earned runs on no hits (Interstat) — walking seven batters (Interstat) — while striking out eight in 5.2 innings. In his previous start May 15 against Tennessee, Mercurius allowed four earned runs on six hits over 5.0 innings. In a relief appearance May 9 at Arkansas, he scattered one earned run on no hits in 2.0 innings.

For Citadel, right-hander Will Holmes likely will get the ball. The junior was sharp Saturday against Illinois-Chicago, allowing two earned runs on one hit over 4.1 innings with eight strikeouts. Holmes has been dominant over his past three starts, posting wins against Samford (May 23) and VMI (May 14), both complete seven-inning outings with a combined 22 strikeouts and one earned run allowed. In a start May 20 against VMI, he allowed six earned runs on five hits over 4.0 innings.

Oklahoma 15, at Citadel 5

Oklahoma vs. Citadel