Cade Horton reflects on the season, seeing some teammates for the last time

Losing in the championship stings terribly. But knowing that’s the last time you’ll get to play with a lot of your teammates stings just as much. Freshman pitcher Cade Horton is experienced both kinds of pain as the Sooners finish up their spectacular run.

When asked following Oklahoma’s Game 2 College World Series Loss about what this particular group meant to him, here is what Horton had to say:

“Yeah, I mean, this team is second to none. I’ll remember these guys for the rest of my life. It’s a close-knit group in there. There’s a lot of young guys, and then there’s — like Tanner, Trent, Jaret, Carmichael, Ben, all those guys that have been around for a while. It sucks seeing this as one of their last games in the uniform.”

A lot of the elder statesman for the Sooners will be departing now that the year — and their college career’s — have come to a close. However, for Horton, he has another three years left to make memories and seek revenge for the title they narrowly missed out on in Omaha this summer.

Horton reveals message from Auburn following Oklahoma CWS title loss

Sooners pitcher Cade Horton was especially distraught after his team’s final game. The freshman pitched his heart out en route to a CWS-record 13 strikeouts in one game — in Game 2. But his magic at the mound went to waste as Oklahoma couldn’t put enough bats on balls to take control while Horton was dealing.

However, after the game and in wake of Ole Miss dog piles and wine bottles, a few Rebels sauntered over to Horton to tip their respect and offer condolences after the emotional finish to the season for both teams. After making his way off the field, Horton was asked what the Ole Miss guys — player TJ McCants and assistant coach Carl Lafferty — said to him. Here was his response:

“They just told me good job, and they said I did a hell of a job. I have a lot of respect for those guys, and they did a great job.”

Even as a freshman in possibly the toughest moment of his sports career, Horton remained a good sport. Credit too to Lafferty and McCants for taking time out of their celebration to congratulate Horton on his great individual performance. You love to see great sportsmanship between two players at the nadir and zenith of their emotions following the title game.