COLUMN: Why Cade Horton is the Next Step in Oklahoma's CWS Pitching Plan

OU needs another quality start Sunday against Notre Dame, but Skip Johnson is turning to his No. 3 pitcher, who took over the role late in the season.

OMAHA — In its College World Series opener Friday against Texas A&M, Oklahoma’s pitching plan went almost exactly according to plan.

Sooners coach Skip Johnson got a quality start from left-hander Jake Bennett. He got a brief (too brief, actually) relief appearance from David Sandlin. And he got 2 ⅔ strong innings from Trevin Michael for his 10th save of the season.

The only hiccup was Sandlin, a starter all season who made his first appearance out of the bullpen. Even if Sandlin’s appearance “didn’t go as smooth as planned,” Johnson said, getting Sandlin even a little work in Omaha “gets him acclimated to the environment” for a pending third start later in the tournament.

It’s likely that when Cade Horton takes the hill for the Sooners (43-22) against Notre Dame (41-15) on Sunday (6 p.m., ESPN2), Johnson will have much the same pitching plan: Horton for six or seven innings, then perhaps a situational reliever, followed by Michael for the save.

That’s not necessarily Johnson’s first choice.

“No, I’d rather him go nine innings and throw a hundred pitches,” Johnson said with a laugh. “That’s what we envision, but you never know what’s gonna happen.”

Horton will need to sustain what he’s already established this postseason. For OU to beat the Irish and take control of the bracket, he’ll need to execute his big curveball and locate his fastball and work in the strike zone.

“The only thing you can control,” Johnson said, “is throwing the ball at the target. You can’t make ‘em swing and miss. You just can throw the ball at the target.”

After coming back from Tommy John surgery last year that knocked him out his entire freshman season, Horton began this season in the bullpen and at third base.

But he hasn’t been a regular in the field since mid-April, focusing instead on pitching. It’s paid off, as he’s become the Sooners’ third starter behind Bennett and Sandlin.

In the postseason, Horton has elevated that with three straight quality starts: 5 ⅓ innings against Texas, 6 ⅓ against Florida, and 6 against Virginia Tech. In those three starts, his earned run average is 2.55, with 25 strikeouts and just five walks.

“All of his pitches,” said catcher Jimmy Crooks, “if they’re working, it’s gonna be hard to hit him.”

In addition to being the top high school baseball player in the state, Horton was also a quarterback at Norman High School – a fact that Johnson often points out. He has a rare quality that got him elected as a captain this year.

“As a freshman, you don’t really see that a lot,” Michael said. “But a guy with his leadership caliber, he just pushes guys and he truly walks around like a senior and shows guys the right way to do things. I mean, his energy on the mound is kind of similar to Jake Bennett, with guys responding to him pitching. Whenever he’s on the mound, you know we’re gonna have a really good chance to win that day.”

As a closer, Michael has benefited as Horton has developed in the starting role.

“Yeah, he’s really learned how to pitch — especially in the last month or so, I’d say,” Michael said. “He had a couple rough outings in the beginning, but he’s really worked with Skip and some guys, like me and Jake Bennett and David Sandlin and Ben Abram, have kind of watched him throw in the bullpens and kind of given him some pointers and stuff.”

Michael said it was Abram who taught Horton the finer points of throwing a cut fastball – while they were shagging balls in the outfield before an early game at Globe Life Field.

“It’s kind of funny,” Michael said. “ ... He just has the pitchability. He understands pitching really well and he’s able to adopt stuff like that.”

Michael said he also had Tommy John surgery at a young age and didn’t bounce back nearly as quickly as Horton has.

“He just carries himself like he should, like a starting pitcher for a big school should,” Michael said. “He always gives us a chance to win.”

Crooks agreed.

“Oh, he’s been awesome ever since the recovery process with him,” Crooks said. “He’s just been a dog — in the weight room and just in practice in general. And with him in the games, he’s been that bulldog on the mound, just throwing strikes and doing his thing.”

“You’ve got to deal with adversity,” Johnson said. “And it makes some men break, makes others break records.”