The Racers evened their NCA Super Regional series with a 19-9 game-2 win Sunday
The Murray State Racers evened their NCAA Durham Super Regional series with the Duke Blue Devils pounding out 17 hits in route to a 19-9 victory at Jack Coombs Field in Durham, North Carolina.
The deciding game-3 is Monday in Durham. The game time and ESPN channel was set to be determined sometime Sunday evening, with the winner earning a spot in next week’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska (June 13-23).
Needing a spark to get their momentum back after a game one defeat, the Racers, who were the home team in game two, got a jolt from Jonathan Hogart when he cracked the first pitch he saw from Duke’s Kyle Johnson over the boards in left for his 20th homer of the season and his seventh lead off home run of 2025. When the inning was over, the Racers had the lead for good at 3-2.
In the second, Carson Garner slammed his 17th home run for a 5-2 lead, one at bat after he had become the new season walks leader for the Racers.
In the seventh, Duke had trimmed the MSU lead to 10-8 when the Racers put the game away by scoring nine times. MSU sent 12 batters to the plate and Connor Cunningham had two hits in the inning, including his seventh homer of the season after Dan Tauken hit his 11th long ball.
Isaac Silva earned his eighth win of the season in handling the Blue Devils for 5.1 innings, while giving six runs on six hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts.
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Game Notes
- The Racers are 6-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament as they are making their fourth all-time appearance after playing in the event in 1975, 1979 and 2003.
- The Racers did not commit an error today and have committed only four in their six games played in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Racers’ 5-run fourth inning today marks the third time in this postseason (including the MVC Tournament & Oxford Regional) in which the Racers have scored five runs in an inning.
- Every Racer that went to the plate today, scored and eight of the nine hitters had a hit.
- MSU did it vs Belmont (May 21) at the MVC Tournament in the second inning and twice against Georgia Tech (May 31) with five runs each in the first and fourth innings.
- The Racers are now 32-1 when leading after six innings, 24-1 after seven innings and 27-1 after eight innings.
- Graham Kelham closed the game out for his seventh save of 2025.
- Kelham is one from matching the MSU single season record of eight that has been done six times, the last
- In the first inning, Carson Garner took his 59th base on balls and became the MSU all-time leader for a single season.
- Garner tops the 58 walks that MSU Hall of Famer, Jack Perconte, recorded in 1974.
- Garner has 17 home runs and 47 for his MSU career, just two from Gary Blaine (1981-84) with 49.
- Garner is also taking aim at the MSU career RBI lead as he now has 188, just one from Tyler Lawrence (2014-17) at 189.
- Hogart’s homer on the first pitch from Duke’s Kyle Johnson was his seventh leadoff home run of 2025.
- Hogart has 20 home runs for third on the all-time MSU career lost behind only Wes Cunningham 22 (2010) and Drew Vogel, who hit 20 last season in 2024.
- Hogart is also the first Racer 20/20 player with 20 home runs and 20 doubles.
- Dom Decker extended his on-base streak to 40 games today.
- In the two games against Duke, Decker is 6-for-10 with a double and six RBIs.
- Dustin Mercer has continued his hot hitting since the MVC Tournament and is 6-for-11 vs Duke with four runs scored.
- Through two games, the Racers are hitting .347 against Duke on 26-for-75.
- MSU pitching is holding Duke to .222 hitting on 14-for-63.
- Six of Duke’s 14 hits have been home runs.