OMAHA, Neb. – When Murray State and the No. 6 seeded Arkansas Razorbacks step onto the grass at Charles Schwab Field on Monday for their 2 p.m. EDT matchup, they’re going to play like Tuesday isn’t coming.
Because for one of those teams, it isn’t. It’s an elimination game, the second of this Men’s College World Series, and it probably means different things to each team and its players.
For Arkansas, one of the top teams in the country all season long and the highest remaining seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, coming to Omaha and losing two straight games will undoubtedly be a disappointment.
“Obviously, we need to move on from this [loss to LSU on Saturday] and get over it and not think too far down the road. We’ve just got to take care of business on Monday. We need to play good Monday, because if we don’t, there’s no Tuesday,” said Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn late Saturday night.
Speaking of his team’s elimination game, Arizona head coach Chip Hale described his team as needing to take a “foxhole mentality,” and while Van Horn didn’t use such martial language, he knows they’ve got to lock in on the Racers.
“You just can’t get all uptight about it. These guys, they’ve come back and won games. They’ve done some great things this year,” Van Horn elaborated. “So that’s what I told them. We’ve got a bullpen full of pitchers. We’ve got a bunch of hitters that can hit. They didn’t have a good night. We need to move on and get ready for Monday.”
While Van Horn didn’t commit to a starter, he was asked Saturday night if junior righty Gage Wood would start against Murray State, and he did indicate that was likely.
“That would be the plan right now. But I’ll be honest with you, it could change when we look at [the matchups],” he said.
Wood has made nine starts this season and been somewhat hot and cold and seldom pitches deep into games. His longest start of the season was a six-inning start against Creighton on June 1 at the Fayetteville regional, where he allowed three runs on three hits and struck out 13. He threw 3 1/3 against Tennessee at the Fayetteville super regional, allowing a single run on three hits, facing 14 batters.
There were some early season struggles, too, including a start against Southeastern Conference rival LSU, where he allowed four runs on four hits in three innings, serving up two homers in a 13-3 loss on May 10, and he went just 1/3 of an inning against Texas A&M on April 18, giving up three runs on three hits and a homer.
In the other clubhouse, Murray State, just the fourth No. 4 seed at a regional to advance to Omaha, are playing with house money. They’re not a team chock full of prospects who will go on to play baseball professionally, whether their careers end here in Omaha or a year or two down the road. But they are a team of players who can play with any team here, as they demonstrated in a hard-fought 6-4 loss to UCLA on Saturday.
Their head coach, Dan Skirka, who does not, despite what you may have seen on social media, mow the grass at Johnny Regan Field, their home ballpark, was happy with his team’s competitive fire in the loss to UCLA, saying there were “A lot of really good things to take away. I know these guys are going to rest up and be ready to go on Monday.”
His seniors know that Monday could be it — not just for the Racers at the College World Series, but for their baseball careers. But they don’t fear what’s ahead. They embrace it.
“It’s baseball heaven here. I was talking about it yesterday. I walked around. I never felt famous before until I got here,” redshirt senior outfielder Dustin Mercer said following the loss to UCLA behind a megawatt smile. “Those kids don’t care whether I’m going to the big leagues or I’m done playing in two weeks. They just want to talk to me. I think that’s a really awesome experience.”
Anyone who’s ever played a sport at any level can tell you it’s hard to smile after a loss, but sometimes the joy of an experience far outweighs the pain.
“I know we lost. That stings, it really does. But keeping that kind of mental attitude of those kids are here to watch us. That’s super cool,” Mercer said. “About the smiling, I’m done playing baseball in two weeks, no matter what. So I’m just trying to keep that on my face and enjoy the ride.”
Photo: Murray State’s Dustin Mercer (10) hits a pop fly during an NCAA College World Series baseball game UCLA on Saturday, June 14, 2025 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Cory Eads)
