National Championship Finale: Oklahoma vs. North Carolina Monday on ESPN

OMAHA, Neb. — The College World Series championship will come down to one final game.

Oklahoma and North Carolina split the first two games of the best-of-three championship series and will meet Monday at 7 p.m. in a winner-take-all showdown at Charles Schwab Field. The Tar Heels are seeking the first national championship in program history, while the Sooners are chasing their third title and first since 1994.

Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson will hand the ball to freshman right-hander Nick Wesloski (2-1, 3.63 ERA), while North Carolina coach Scott Forbes has not announced a starter, saying it will be “all hands on deck” with multiple pitching options available.

The decisive third game became necessary after North Carolina bounced back from a Game 1 loss to earn a 6-2 victory Sunday night.

The Tar Heels relied on dominant pitching from Ryan Lynch and freshman Caden Glauber to even the series. Lynch worked four innings before turning the game over to Glauber, who struck out eight batters while allowing just one hit over five scoreless innings.

North Carolina improved to 29-0 this season in games pitched by Glauber.

Erik Paulsen Jr. collected three hits and scored a run for the Tar Heels, while Jake Schaffner delivered a key game-tying triple in the third inning. Owen Hull’s solo home run in the fifth gave North Carolina a 4-2 lead, and Cooper Nicholson added a two-run homer in the seventh.

Oklahoma jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning Sunday but managed just three hits the rest of the way as the Tar Heels’ pitching staff took control.

The Sooners earned the early edge in the series with a 9-3 victory Saturday behind a pair of home runs from Deiten LaChance.

LaChance launched a two-run homer in the first inning and added a solo shot in the third as Oklahoma continued the offensive surge that carried it through the bracket. The Sooners broke open a tie game with four runs in the fourth inning, chasing North Carolina All-American starter Jason DeCaro.

Kyle Branch delivered a two-run single during the rally, while Jason Walk and Camden Johnson added RBI hits. Oklahoma freshman left-hander Cord Rager settled down after a rocky first inning to earn the win, allowing just one hit over five innings.

LaChance finished 3-for-5 in the opener, while Dasan Harris added three hits, including two doubles.

Now, after each team has delivered a convincing victory, the national championship will be decided in one final game.

For North Carolina, a win would bring the first national title in school history. For Oklahoma, it would cap a remarkable postseason run and deliver the Sooners’ first College World Series championship in more than three decades.