I haven’t kept up with the College World Series games like I planned to, and I missed one heck of a historic game on Monday. As soon as my editing shift ended and my phone came off Do Not Disturb, I saw a slew of notifications from ESPN about the game between Arkansas and Murray State. ESPN has adopted Murray State as one of its favorites this College World Series and slapped the small school with the C-word: Cinderella.
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Side note: If you elect me as president, I’ll sign an executive order on day one banning sports media from using the word “Cinderella” in its coverage of sporting events. It’s the hoariest of sports cliches.
The notifications said things like “Is a no-hitter brewing in Omaha?” And “NO-HITTER ALERT!” Of course, all superstitious baseball fans know that you don’t talk about a no-hitter because you might jinx it. Then again, ESPN had adopted Murray State as a favorite, so it was probably trying to jinx Arkansas’ starting pitcher Gage Wood.
But Wood pulled it off. He pitched the first no-hitter in the College World Series since 1960 and the third of all time. To top it all off, Wood threw an astonishing 19 strikeouts, which set a new College World Series record, and had he not hit one Murray State batter with a pitch in the ninth inning, he would have achieved a perfect game.
Serious question, no hyperbole. Given the stakes:
Gage Wood throwing a 19-strikeout no-hitter, in a game where his team’s season was on the line, has to be one of the greatest pitching performances -regardless of level – in baseball history, right?pic.twitter.com/58Dkpz5p5n
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) June 16, 2025
When ESPN’s reporter asked Wood about his performance in the game, Wood said, “I shouldn’t have hit the guy.”
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Even though ESPN didn’t mind promoting the potential no-hitter, the Arkansas dugout kept the superstition going. ESPN reports:
Catcher Ryder Helfrick had a feeling something special was brewing by the fourth inning, but he kept quiet. Skipper Dave Van Horn was mum, too.
“I’ll be the first to say there was nothing being talked about or said in our dugout,” Van Horn said. “We were just going to let him roll.”
Everybody did their part until the end of the eighth inning, when 11-year-old batboy Gage Goodwin, whom the players call G-baby, slipped.
“Is Gage going out for the no-no?” asked the son of Clay Goodwin, Arkansas’ director of baseball operations.
“Wood’s 119th and final pitch was clocked at 97 mph, and he ran his fingers through the letters over his chest, emphatically saying, ‘Arkansas’ as the Razorbacks beat Murray State 3-0 in their first elimination game in Omaha,” ESPN’s Elizabeth Merrill continues. “To put his 19-strikeout feat in perspective, no pitcher has ever had more than 17 strikeouts in an MLB no-hitter, according to ESPN Research.”
“Did baseball fans and a national audience on ESPN witness the greatest pitching performance ever at the College World Series on Monday?” asks Mitch Sherman at The Athletic. He answers his own question: “Statistically, yes. Anecdotally, it’s the same answer.”
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Not only was Wood a solidly efficient pitcher, but he also proved to be a class act. After recording the last out of the game, he threw the game ball to his dad, who beamed with pride. Wood told reporters after the game, “I gave [the ball] to my dad. Said, ‘Happy late Father’s Day.’”
GOOSEBUMPS 😢
After throwing a no hitter in the College World Series, @GageWood_14 gives the game ball to his pops pic.twitter.com/3Q16k28evk
— Jack DeLongchamps (@JDelongchamps) June 16, 2025
“I’m trying to hold back tears.”
Gage Wood threw the third ever no-hitter in MCWS history and the first in 65 years. His father Brian reacts to this moment with @AnaBellMedia. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/5nICrSWNzT
— Hurrdat Sports (@HurrdatSports) June 16, 2025
Proud father in the middle with ball from final out of Gage’s CWS no-hitter. pic.twitter.com/xnl5liuDFb
— Hunter Yurachek (@HunterYurachek) June 16, 2025
As soon as the game ended, Wood walked over to two Murray State players to commiserate over eliminating them from the College World Series. He consoled Jonathan Hogart, who struck out for the last out of the game, and he hugged Connor Cunningham, with whom Wood works out regularly. Wood and Cunningham also went to the same high school.
“It’s the only thing I’m focused on, we gotta keep winning. We want the whole thing.”
After throwing just the third no-hitter in MCWS history, Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood is locked in on trying to win the natty 🏆 pic.twitter.com/YsMwlJDBli
— ESPN (@espn) June 16, 2025
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Wood’s stellar performance came after he missed almost two months at the beginning of the season with a shoulder injury. He also had never pitched more than six innings in his college career, so a complete game was a feat even if he hadn’t achieved the no-hitter.
Arkansas’ postseason continues on Tuesday night. Hopefully, the Razorbacks will hold on long enough for us to see more magic from Wood later on. But even if he doesn’t pitch again in this College World Series, he’s made the history books for sure.
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