America’s Team: Murray State’s Road to Omaha

The road to Omaha is complete. Eight teams have claimed the title as the best of the best. In a season of upsets, one Cinderella story remains. Similar to March Madness, the college baseball postseason was made for upsets, Florida Gators getting shut down twice by East Carolina, and the one and two seeds being sent packing in their own regionals. In June, anything can happen.

The Racers of Murray State paved their road to Omaha quietly. They began their season on a seven-game win streak. Their first loss came at the hands of SEC powerhouse Ole Miss. The Racers fell 8-7, but not before forcing the game into extra innings. Despite the loss, this team had fight, and proved early on they could go toe to toe with the best of the best. Their next great test came in Lexington, KY. Again, the Racers held their opponent to a tight score, but this time they came out on top 5-4.

The rest of the season was smooth sailing for the Racers, who flew under the radar due to their conference. On top, they never scratched the surface of the D1 baseball top 25 rankings. Their 17-8 conference record and sweeping their conference tournament sent them sailing into regional competition. Little did coach Dan Skirka know his team would be making program history in just a few short games.

In the Oxford Regional, the Racers were set to face Ole Miss in Game One. Back in February, Murray State came very close to taking down Ole Miss; they knew they had it in them, so they went and did just that. In game one of the Oxford Regional, Murray State finally got its win against Ole Miss, coming out on top 9-3. In their second game, they crushed the ACC’s former one seed Georgia Tech, putting up 13 runs against Tech’s pitchers. It was back to Ole Miss for the Racers for their third game of the weekend. However, this game was Ole Miss’ to win. Murray State’s road to Omaha wasn’t meant to be that easy. Game Seven of the Oxford Regional had fans holding their breath. While the Racers pulled ahead early, Ole Miss tried their hardest to rally in the final two innings of the game. Murray State’s defense wasn't ready for their season to be over just yet. Pitcher Graham Kelham snagged the save and shut down the SEC powerhouse. The Racers made history and were heading to Durham, NC, for a Super Regional.

Duke started the 2025 season in the top 25 rankings. Slowly, they fell until the Blue Devils were not a thought in anyone’s minds every Monday when rankings were released. Hosting a Super Regional was big news for this ACC team. Game One was theirs, silencing the Racers ever so slightly with a 7-4 win. Game Two, however, was a much different story. Nineteen runs were scored by Murray State on June 8th; the underdogs were not going down without a fight.

On June 9th, 2025, Murray State baseball made history. The Racers hit a record 44th win of their season after a 5-4 victory over Duke. This team clawed its way to its deciding victory. While Duke tried their best to rally in the bottom of the eighth, Kelham excelled on the mound for the Racers and shut it down.

June is usually a month of SEC praise. This year was different. Everyone is talking about Murray State. Their first MCWS birth came in one of the best years of college baseball. A true Cinderella story will emerge in Omaha as the Racers make history, advance, and survive to play another day.