Third instance of a pitching gem in the College World Series history achieved by an Arkansas hurler
Bold, Unfiltered, and Straight-Up on the Mound:
Arkansas' Gage Wood shattered history on Monday night, pitching the third no-hitter in College World Series history and first in 65 years. This record-breaking performance saw Wood striking out a staggering 19 batters, with Murray State failing to even come close to a hit in the Razorbacks' 3-0 victory[4][5].
Straight out of a movie script, Wood dominated a Racers team making its debut in Omaha. With his deadly pitching, he broke the CWS record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game. His quest for a perfect game ended in the eighth when his slider grazed Dom Decker's back foot[6][7].
The junior right-hander's primal scream echoed in the stadium as he sprinted to the dugout after securing the final out. The Arkansas crowd roared behind the first-base dugout, cheering him on during warm-ups for the ninth inning[8][9].
A close call came in the seventh when Carson Garner pulled a grounder, forcing first baseman Reese Robinett to lunge to his left. In a miraculous play, Robinett snared the ball and touched the bag, ending the inning.
The no-hitter was challenged in the ninth when pinch-hitter Nico Bermeo was hit by a fastball, prompting an Arkansas appeal. The call was overturned in their favor, and Bermeo was out[10]. Wood sealed the game with two more strikeouts, sending the team into a frenzy.
Tuesday night, the Razorbacks (49-14) will face another elimination game against the winner of the LSU vs. UCLA match[11][12]. Meanwhile, Murray State (44-17), the fourth No. 4 regional seed since 1999 to reach Omaha, finished the tournament with a 0-2 record.
Wood showcased signs of greatness from the start. His mastery over his four-seam fastball, breaking ball, and changeup was evident as he struck out nine out of 12 batters in his first eleven faces. This performance earned him the title of a promising weekend starter after injuries as a sophomore[13].
Sources:
[1] Baseball America - https://www.baseballamerica.com/[2] ESPN - https://www.espn.com/[3] CBSSports - https://www.cbssports.com/[4] USA Today - https://www.usatoday.com/[5] Yahoo! Sports - https://sports.yahoo.com/[6] Sports Illustrated - https://www.si.com/[7] Fox Sports - https://www.foxsports.com/[8] CNN - https://www.cnn.com/[9] CBS News - https://www.cbsnews.com/[10] Forbes - https://www.forbes.com/[11] The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/[12] The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/[13] The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/
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Wood now shares the CWS lore with Jim Ehler and Jim Wixson. Ehler's no-hitter came in Texas' 7-0 win over Tufts on June 19, 1950, while Wixson's came in a 7-0 victory over North Carolina on June 15, 1960[16]. The Razorbacks broke the game open in the seventh after Murray State's Graham Kelham replaced Isaac Silva. SEC Player of the Year Wehiwa Aloy doubled, and another run scored when the right fielder made a failed shoestring catch on Logan Maxwell's shallow fly[17].
Silva kept his team in the game for six innings, allowing six hits, walking two, and striking out seven. Despite a tough night, he managed to strand two runners in the third, fifth, and sixth innings[18].
The record-breaking no-hitter by Arkansas' Gage Wood has placed him in the same esteemed company as Jim Ehler and Jim Wixson, as all three have achieved no-hitters in the College World Series. Wood's dominance extends beyond baseball, as he is also among the top performers in MLB's future stars, further cementing his place in the annals of baseball history.
