Oklahoma clinches Championship berth with 16-5 win

The Oklahoma RedHawks beat the Iowa Cubs 16-5 Sunday afternoon at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark to win the American Conference Championship. Oklahoma defeated Iowa three games to two and advanced to the Pacific Coast League Championship Series against the defending league champion Sacramento River Cats.

The I-Cubs took a 1-0 lead off Tommy Hunter in the first inning when Andres Torres hit a solo home run. That score remained until the fourth inning when Iowa starter Randy Wells hit Ryan Roberts with a pitch, walked John Mayberry and Max Ramirez, and allowed a grand slam to Travis Metcalf. Oklahoma added a run in the fifth on a home run by Roberts and three runs in the sixth on a home run by Jason Ellison to take an 8-1 lead.

The RedHawks added four runs in the seventh, including two on a home run by Mayberry, and four in the eighth to extend the lead to 16-2. Metcalf hit his second home run of the game in the inning, and Ben Harrison added a two-run shot as well. Iowa plated three runs in the top of the ninth on a home run by Torres.

Tommy Hunter allowed one run on six hits over six innings to pick up the win, while Randy Wells, pitching on three days rest, surrendered five runs in the loss. Iowa pitchers walked 27 batters during the series, including nine Sunday, compared to ten walks by Oklahoma's staff during the series. The RedHawks had a series-high 12 hits on Sunday, six of which went for home runs. Metcalf drove in six for Oklahoma, Ellison drove in three, and Harrison added a pair to lead the RedHawks. Torres drove in four of the five Iowa runs in the loss.

With this series victory, Oklahoma won its first conference title since 1999. The RedHawks lost the PCL Championship Series to Vancouver that year.

The RedHawks and River Cats begin the Pacific Coast League Championship Series on Tuesday at Raley Field in Sacramento. Games one and two will be played in California starting at 9:05 pm Central, while game three is slated for Friday night at 7:05 pm at the Brick. Oklahoma would host games on Saturday and Sunday afternoon if necessary. The River Cats beat the RedHawks 3-1 during the season series.

The winner of the Pacific Coast League will face the winner of the International League on Tuesday September 16 at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in the Express Employment Professionals Bricktown Showdown.