Racers win first ever NCAA regional baseball championship

Murray State made the most of their first NCAA baseball tournament appearance since 1979.

The underdog Racers defeated Ole Miss twice and Georgia Tech once en route to the program’s top moment in 86 seasons.

The Racers brought home the program's first ever NCAA regional championship when they defeated the Ole Miss Rebels 12-11 Monday night on their home field in Oxford.

The Racers pounded out 19 hits against Southeastern Conference pitching, and jumped to a 12-3 advantage before the Rebels put on a late charge.

Luke Mistone and Will Vierling both went 4 for 5 and Carson Garner and Dom Decker both had three hits as the Racers shocked the team that pounded them 19-8 on Sunday night.

Fortunately, the Racers had nearly every one of their top arms available, albeit on short rest, including Isaac Silva and Nic Schutte. The righty duo combined for 6 innings to start the game by throttling the Rebels with only two hits, giving only one walk and striking out nine. 

With the game on the line, Graham Kelham came on to record his third save in the regional by getting the final eight outs on six hits, three runs, six strikeouts and only one walk.

Murray State also did all their scoring Monday without the benefit of any home runs. The offense was highlighted by a triple from Dustin Mercer, who hit .556 in the four games.

The Racers (42-14) advance to the NCAA Super Regional where they meet the Duke Blue Devils in a best-of-three series this weekend in Durham. The schedule for games and start times will be announced soon.

Monday's win culminates and amazing postseason run for head coach Dan Skirka and his team that won four games to take the Missouri Valley Conference Championship and three wins this week at the Oxford Regional. 

Murray State is the third straight Missouri Valley Conference team to make the second weekend after Indiana State (2023) and Evansville (2024).