Nine innings. 119 pitches. 19 strikeouts. Just the third no-hitter in MCWS history.
Arkansas right-handed pitcher Gage Wood took Omaha by storm Monday afternoon, tossing nine innings of zero-run baseball in an elimination game against Murray State. His only mistakes came on a hit-by-pitch in the eighth inning, where the Racers reached base for the first and only time.
Wood entered the College World Series with a 3-1 record and 5.02 ERA, but few expected the dominant performance that unfolded on the mound. He mixed a mid-90s fastball with a sharp slider, keeping Murray State off balance through his career afternoon to keep Arkansas’ championship hopes alive with a 3-0 victory.
“I guess what you do is you’d hate to not throw Wood, and you throw a left‑hander and next thing you know you are down six runs or you lose and you’re thinking, ‘Boy, that was stupid,'” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said before the game. “So we just have to go with him, and if it goes good, we let him go.”
The no‑hitter was Wood’s first of his college career and gave the Razorbacks life in the losers bracket. Arkansas, coming off a 4‑1 loss to LSU in its CWS opener, was facing elimination by a Murray State squad that had kept its rhythm by outhitting UCLA just days before.
Wood’s performance silenced the Racers’ lineup early. After a quick first inning, he settled into a groove, working efficiently through the middle frames. The native of Newport, Arkansas, struck out 19, scattering zero hits and hitting just one batter. His season totals now stand at 69 strikeouts with eight walks over 37 2/3 innings.
Arkansas hitters, however, struggled to provide ample support at first. The Razorbacks scored just once on Murray State starter Isaac Silva, who entered the game 9-2 with a 5.09 ERA, as he rallied through six innings. Arkansas chipped away with timely hits, however, as a key two‑run seventh inning put them firmly in control.
In the eighth, with the no‑hitter still intact, Wood hit a batter for the only baserunner of his outing. He responded by striking out the next two Racers. In the ninth, he hit another, but the umpires deemed the Murray State hitter moved into the pitch, and Wood caught a break for his 17th strike out of the game, tying an NCAA record.
On the ensuing batter, Wood made history: punching out a record 18 batters.
“I should not have hit the guy,” he said in a postgame interview. “That is all I gotta say.”
After missing time due to injury early in the season, Wood returned to post a 5.02 ERA but flashed elite stuff, racking up 50 strikeouts against just seven walks in the regular season. Entering the game, questions remained about whether he could go deep into games, as he had only crossed five innings twice.
This afternoon, though, there were no limits.
Now, with Wood’s historic performance behind him, Arkansas has a clear path back into contention. But its margin for error is gone, and even more brilliance will be required.
Arkansas will face the loser of LSU‑UCLA at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday night in another elimination game. Wood, refreshed after his no‑hitter, gives the Hogs new lif, as they look to keep the momentum going.
“It is everything,” Wood said about Arkansas before being embraced by a sea of cardinal and white teammates.
