Inside Gage Wood's MCWS masterpiece

OMAHA, Neb. -- Following the superstition of thousands of shot players earlier them, the Arkansas Razorbacks didn't situation utter the words "no hitter" oregon "perfect game" successful the dugout Monday day arsenic Gage Wood mowed done Murray State's lineup astatine the Men's College World Series.

Catcher Ryder Helfrick had a feeling thing peculiar was brewing by the 4th inning, but helium kept quiet. Skipper Dave Van Horn was mum, too.

"I'll beryllium the archetypal to say, determination was thing being talked astir oregon said successful our dugout," Van Horn said. "We were conscionable going to fto him roll."

Everybody did their portion until the extremity of the eighth inning, erstwhile 11-year-old batboy Gage Goodwin, whom the players telephone G-baby, slipped.

"Is Gage going retired for the no-no?" asked Goodwin, the lad of Clay Goodwin, Arkansas' manager of shot operations.

It didn't matter, though.

Wood, a 6-foot, 205-pound right-hander struck retired the past 3 batters, breaking a MCWS grounds with 19. He became the first subordinate to propulsion a no-hitter successful the MCWS successful 65 years. He really had a cleanable crippled going until the eighth inning erstwhile his breaking shot deed Dom Decker successful the foot.

Wood's 119th and last transportation was clocked astatine 97 mph, and Wood ran his fingers done the cursive letters implicit his chest, emphatically saying, "Arkansas" arsenic the Razorbacks bushed Murray State 3-0 successful their archetypal elimination crippled successful Omaha. To enactment his 19-strikeout feat successful perspective, nary pitcher has ever had much than 17 strikeouts successful an MLB no-hitter, according to ESPN Research. Max Scherzer and Nolan Ryan are the lone ones to scope 17.

Earlier this year, Wood missed 7 weeks of the play with a enarthrosis injury. It was the lone clip Helfrick had seen him down. And the astir pitches Wood had thrown earlier Monday successful 2025 was 91 a mates of weeks agone successful the Fayetteville Regional last against Creighton.

Razorbacks pitching manager Matt Hobbs, who reassured Wood during his rehab that helium would beryllium backmost to assistance the squad triumph ballgames, said Monday that with the play connected the enactment successful an elimination game, determination was "never a discussion" who was going to start.

He did, however, effort to person a treatment with Wood successful the eighth inning astir however helium was doing and whether helium could spell on.

"He looked similar helium was astir to termination me," Hobbs said, laughing. "I conscionable walked away."

There was nary mode helium was talking Wood retired anyhow -- astatine slightest not portion helium had the no-hitter going strong. Wood, Hobbs said, was riding adrenaline those last 2 innings.

Both Hobbs and Helfrick, who called 118 of the pitches -- Hobbs called 1 fastball -- had a bully feeling astir Wood connected Monday. Hobbs usually has to property his catcher to springiness an sentiment connected his pregame thoughts, but Monday helium was firm. All of Wood's pitches looked good, Helfrick told him.

Wood struck retired 7 consecutive batters from the 3rd to the 5th inning, and the Razorbacks were connected their way. Wood said helium didn't commencement reasoning astir the no-hitter until the eighth. That didn't astonishment his catcher.

"I don't cognize what's going done that caput of his," Helfrick said. "He's a character. That's Gage Wood."

After Wood threw his last transportation and celebrated, helium recovered Murray State infielder Conner Cunningham and wrapped him successful a hug. Cunningham and Wood hail from Batesville, Arkansas, a astir 3-hour and 45-minute thrust from Fayetteville, and successful the offseason they play drawback and enactment retired together.

"He stands successful connected bullpens, gives maine feedback," Wood said. "When I'm location -- there's not overmuch successful Batesville, if y'all don't cognize that. I deliberation there's 10, 11,000 radical there. So, there's nary bully spot for maine to spell propulsion connected a way antheral with these different assemblage guys. It's maine and him.

"He helps a batch erstwhile I'm home. So I wanted to spell archer him that I loved him."

He told Cunningham, a freshman, that helium was arrogant helium made it this far.

After throwing a no-hitter, Arkansas SP Gage Wood made to extremity his headdress to Murray State's Conner Cunningham 🤝 pic.twitter.com/AT5sHHhwZf

Wood is expected to beryllium a precocious prime successful adjacent month's MLB draft, but connected Monday, helium cherished his clip connected the mound, and the accidental to vie with the Razorbacks again connected Tuesday against the loser of the UCLA-LSU crippled successful yet different elimination game. Hobbs said that the squad doesn't prime captains, but Wood is considered one. He said the pitcher could've checked retired aft his wounded earlier successful the play and alternatively focused connected the draft.

On the biggest signifier of his career, Wood delivered 1 emphatic message: He's not going anyplace yet.

"Obviously successful that infinitesimal to bash that," Hobbs said, "I don't deliberation we're ever going to spot thing similar that again. That's by acold the top show I've ever seen. You instrumentality into scope that it's an elimination crippled and it's a kid who's been done a batch this season, whether it's wounded oregon conscionable coming backmost from that and to bash that connected this stage, what a large performance."