Gage Wood has etched his name in baseball history by throwing the first no-hitter in the College World Series since 1960.
The Arkansas right-hander struck out 19 Murray State hitters among the 27 outs he recorded, which marks a Men’s College World Series record for a nine-inning game. This marks just the third no-hitter in the history of the College World Series. Oklahoma State’s Jim Wixon (1960) and Texas’ Jim Ehrler (1950) are the only other players to accomplish this feat.
The 21-year-old threw 119 pitches and was just one hit batter away from it being a perfect game. 83 of the 119 pitches he threw were strikes. Arkansas produced a 3-0 victory in the matchup.
Wood was already on the MLB’s radar and is listed as the No. 50 overall draft prospect by MLB Pipeline. This is his third season at Arkansas after spending the past two years operating primarily as a reliever. His best pitch is his fastball, but he can also throw a curveball, slider and changeup, all of which were working for him today. It is still unclear if Wood will project as a starter or reliever at the MLB level, but he certainly helped his future outlook today with one of the most impressive pitching performances in the history of the College World Series.
Arkansas currently holds the third-best odds to win the College World Series at +360 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. They trail LSU and Coastal Carolina as the two current favorites.
