Murray State was pretty good Monday, but not good enough for Gage Wood. The University of Arkansas starter threw just the third no-hitter in College World Series history and the first in 65 years. It was a little like watching Arkansas play LSU last Saturday, when the Razorbacks were handcuffed by great pitching.

The stands at Charles Schwab Field were emptying, and Murray State players wanted to savor their program’s first College World Series as long as they could.

Each year removed from game two of the 2018 College World Series championship against Oregon State feels like cutting open scar tissue over again. When fans finally feel like this could be the year, everything that this Arkansas baseball team had become leading up to the most important game of the season is undone.

OMAHA, Neb. — The foundation for Murray State baseball coach Dan Skirka included a pit stop in Southwest Arkansas. In 2009, Skirka was just a couple of years removed from a standout playing career as a shortstop at Grand Valley State when he spent a year as a graduate assistant at Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia.