Arkansas’ Gage Wood throws historic no-hitter in College World Series
Arkansas’ Gage Wood tosses the third no-hitter in Men’s College World Series history as Arkansas tops Murray State.
NCAA
Out of 119 pitches, Arkansas’ Gage Wood would only take one back.
The Razorbacks’ right-hander went seven innings without allowing a baserunner against Murray State on June 16, with the perfect game bid ultimately being broken up when Wood hit Dom Decker with a curveball that skipped off the top of Decker’s foot in a 2-2 count. It wasn’t a bad pitch. It was just the wrong one.
Ultimately, Wood still made history. He threw the first College World Series no-hitter since 1960 and struck out a ridiculous 19 Racer hitters, all while living in the mid-to-high 90s for Arkansas. The gem was needed. Arkansas’ potent offense was held in check by Isaac Silva, who allowed just one run and fanned seven of his own in six innings. Graham Kelham allowed two runs, resulting in a 3-0 win for Arkansas.
The College World Series has seen the likes of Paul Skenes, Kumar Rocker, and Gerrit Cole. None of them managed to make lineups look as overmatched as Wood made Murray State look throughout the day.Â
Ultimately, the result is that Arkansas lives to fight another day in the College World Series. But in the long run, Wood’s performance is going to be remembered in the annals of College World Series history no matter how far Dave Van Horn’s program goes this season. Arkansas will now play the loser of UCLA-LSU on June 17, as it looks for the first title in program history.
USA TODAY Sports followed the game live. Catch up on Wood’s historic performance below.
Watch Arkansas baseball vs. Murray State on Fubo (free trial)
Arkansas vs Murray State baseball live score
| TEAMS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | F |
| Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Murray State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gage Wood was just one batter off of perfection, and he was clearly well aware. Following his no-hitter, when he was asked how he was feeling, his response was succinct: “I shouldn’t have hit that guy. That’s all I have to say.”
The mind of a pitcher remains a scary place.
Wood completes a no-hitter in a 19-strikeout performance to give Arkansas a 3-0 win over Murray State in the CWS elimination game.
Wood loses his perfect game, but strikes out two more hitters in the eighth inning and has 16 now.
Wood loses his perfect game in the bottom of the eighth inning when he hits Murray State’s Dom Decker.
Wood strikes out his 14th hitter of the game and then induces two groundball outs to get through the seventh without allowing a base runner. His strikeouts are a career high and the most for Arkansas in an NCAA Tournament game.
Dustin Mercer drops a low flyball and allows another Arkansas run to score. It’s 3-0 Razorbacks in the top of the seventh inning.
Wehiwa Aloy doubles down the third base line to score Justin Thomas Jr., who led off the inning with a single. Arkansas is leading 2-0 with Gage Wood dominating on the mound.
Graham Kelham has taken over for Silva on the mound in the top of the seventh inning with Arkansas leading Murray State 1-0.
Wood strikes out two more in the bottom of the sixth inning. He has tied a career-high of 13 strikeouts.
Wood has also not allowed a single baserunner through six innings.
Silva strikes out Reese Robinett looking to end the top half of the Arkansas sixth inning. Silva has seven strikeouts and two walks. He has allowed just that one run in the third inning.
Wood strikes out Dom Decker to open the fifth inning to give him seven straight strikeouts. Luke Mistone grounds out for the second out to end the streak, but Wood strikes out Will Vierling to end the inning.
Wood has 11 punchouts through five innings and has thrown 66 pitches.
Silva works out of another jam in the fifth inning after allowing a single and a walk. Silva has stranded five Razorbacks on the bases so far.
Wood strikes out the side for a second straight inning and he has recorded six punchouts in a row. Wood has nine strikeouts today.
He had a career-high 13 strikeouts against Creighton on June 1.
Silva bounces back with a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth after allowing a run and three hits in the third inning.
Wood strikes out the side in the bottom of the third inning. He’s at six strikeouts through three innings. Wood’s offense got him one run in the top of the inning and that may be all he needs.
Following his RBI single, Charles Davalan stole second to give Arkansas runners on second and third with zero outs. However, Isaac Silva retired Wehiwa Aloy, Logan Maxwell and Ryder Helfrick to escape the inning. Silva struck out Helfrick to end the inning.
To his credit, Aloy hit a liner 110.5 mph off the bat, but it was hit right to Conner Cunningham, who made a nice snag.
Arkansas has three straight hits to open the third inning, including an RBI single to left field for Charles Davalan to give the Razorbacks an early 1-0 lead. Reese Robinett led off the inning with a double and scored the first run.
The Razorbacks have runners on the corners with no outs.
Isaac Silva records a 1-2-3 inning in the second, which requires him to throw just six pitches. He racked up his third strikeout of the game.
Not to be outdone, Gage Wood goes 1-2-3 for the second straight inning and also picked up his third strikeout.
Gage Wood records a pair of strikeouts to retire Murray State 1-2-3 in the top of the first inning. Wood struck out Dustin Mercer and Carson Garner back-to-back with one out to end the frame.
Wehiwa Aloy collects a one-out single, but Isaac Silva sets down Arkansas in the top of the first inning without giving up a run. He struck out Charles Davalan on a nasty sinker to lead off the game and Ryder Helfrick to end the inning.
First pitch is fired at 2:08 p.m. from Isaac Silva, with Murray State being the designated home team for today’s elimination game.
Here’s a look at the Racers’ starting lineup against the Razorbacks on June 16 in the CWS elimination game:
- Jonathan Hogart, CF
- Dustin Mercer, RF
- Carson Garner, 3B
- Dom Decker, 2B
- Luke Mistone, 1B
- Will Vierling, C
- Dan Tauken, LF
- Charlie Jury, DH
- Conner Cunningham, SS
Here’s a look at the Razorbacks’ starting lineup against the Racers on June 16 in the CWS elimination game:
- Charles Davalan, LF
- Wehiwa Aloy, SS
- Logan Maxwell, RF
- Ryder Helfrick, C
- Cam Kozeal, 2B
- Kuhio Aloy, DH
- Brent Iredale, 3B
- Reese Robinett, 1B
- Justin Thomas Jr., CF
Isaac Silva draws the start for Murray State in today’s elimination game at the CWS. Silva is 9-2 on the season with a 5.09 ERA in 17 appearances (15 starts) and 81 1/3 innings of work.
The right-hander allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings against Duke in the Durham Super Regional in his last start on June 8. He picked up the win.
Gage Wood will get the call on the bump for Arkansas against Murray State in an elimination game at the CWS. Wood owns a 3-1 record with a 5.02 ERA in 28 2/3 innings and nine starts. The righty junior struck out 13 against Creighton on June 1.Â
According to Jackson Fuller of the Fort Smith Southwest Times Record ― Part of the USA TODAY Network ― Zach Root and Gabe Gaeckle should be unavailable to pitch today for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas is 8-0 all-time against Murray State, which includes a series sweep during the 2024 season in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This will mark the first matchup between the two programs outside of Fayetteville.
What time does Arkansas vs Murray State baseball start?
Arkansas and Murray State are scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET first pitch at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, in a CWS elimination game.
What TV channel is Arkansas vs Murray State baseball on today?
The CWS elimination game between Arkansas and Murray State will air on ESPN. Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Ben McDonald (analyst), Eduardo Pérez (analyst) and Dani Wexelman (sideline reporter) will be on the call.
Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app (with a TV login), ESPN+ — ESPN’s subscription streaming service — and Fubo, the last of which carries ESPN and offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
Arkansas vs Murray State baseball predictions, picks, odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Sunday, June 15
- Spread:Â Arkansas -3.5
- Over/under:Â 10.5
- Moneyline:Â Arkansas (-500) | Murray State (+340)
College World Series schedule
The College World Series began on June 13 and will run through June 22 or 23, depending on whether the championship series requires two or three games. Here is a more detailed look at the latest college baseball schedule and NCAA Tournament bracket update.
- College World Series:Â June 13-22/23
- CWS finals:Â June 21-22/23
