OMAHA, Neb. — In a remarkable performance, Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood secured the third no-hitter in College World Series history on Monday, striking out a career-high 19 batters in a 119-pitch outing. His dominant display helped the Razorbacks clinch a 3-0 victory over Murray State in an elimination game.
With this win, Arkansas (49-14) advances to face the loser of the matchup between LSU (49-15) and UCLA (48-16) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Murray State (44-17) was eliminated from the tournament, having already suffered a loss to UCLA, 6-4, on Saturday.
Wood’s performance was nothing short of extraordinary; he retired the first 21 batters he faced, taking a perfect game into the eighth inning until hitting Dominic Decker with a pitch. This marked the longest perfect game bid at the CWS since 1999.
The junior right-hander surpassed his previous career marks for strikeouts (previously 13), innings (previously 6), and total pitches (previously 89), all of which were set on June 3 during the NCAA Fayetteville Regional at Baum-Walker Stadium.
He capped off the no-hitter with a strikeout of Jonathan Hogart on a fastball that reached 97 mph, leading to an emotional celebration as his teammates rushed to congratulate him.
Although the Razorbacks faced offensive challenges for the second game in a row, they provided Wood with sufficient support. A double by Reese Robinett in the third inning preceded Charles Davalan’s single, which brought Robinett home for a 1-0 lead.
In the seventh inning, Arkansas added two more runs: Wehiwa Aloy’s RBI double brought in Justin Thomas after a leadoff single, followed by Davalan’s single that capitalized on a fielding mishap by Murray State right fielder Dustin Mercer.
Despite accumulating 10 hits, Arkansas struggled with runners in scoring position, managing only 4 hits in 16 attempts with men on base and 3 hits in 13 chances with runners in scoring position, leaving 9 players stranded, 7 of whom were in scoring position.