There’s some magic in this Murray State team.
For the first time in program history, the Murray State Racers have advanced to the Men’s College World Series, beating Duke in three games in the Durham Super Regional. It is only the fourth time in history that a No. 4 seed has advanced to the MCWS.
Game 3 was a signature win for the Racers, relying on a high-powered offense and clutch relief pitching to outpace and outlast the Blue Devils.
Coming off a 19-9 win on Sunday, MSU looked to jump out to an early lead again. Jonathan Hogart did just that, hitting a leadoff homer in the first for the second-straight game.
He would go on to hit another solo shot in the seventh, putting him at 22 homers on the season and tying Wes Cunningham for the single-season program record. Luke Mistone added another solo shot in the eighth to take a 4-3 lead, and a triple from Dan Tauken later in the inning added an insurance run, making it 5-3.
But unlike in Game 2, Duke was still hanging around late. A solo homer from Macon Winslow made it a 5-4 game in the bottom of the eighth. Despite the Racers having some of the hottest bats left in the tournament, Duke was able to hold them to under eight runs for only the second time this tournament, keeping the door open for a comeback in the ninth.
An overturned interference call in the bottom of the ninth caused a premature celebration for Murray State, but Graham Kelham regrouped on the mound and slammed the door on Duke for his ninth save of the year, sending the Racers to Omaha for the first time in program history.
The Racers will face No. 15 UCLA on Saturday, June 14 at 2 p.m. ET.