Some players say it’s a boyhood dream, Murray State outfielder Dustin Mercer referred to it as “baseball heaven” when talking about Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska after the Racers first-ever College World Series game.
After advancing to “the greatest show on dirt” by winning the Durham Super Regional against Duke on June 14, the Racers had been given an opportunity to shock the world. Their first opponent: the Big Ten co-regular season champion UCLA Bruins.
Murray State had early opportunities to score after Mercer and redshirt sophomore infielder Dom Decker drew walks in the first inning. Despite early baserunners, the Racers couldn’t drive across a run.
UCLA wasted no time on offense, with the first four Bruins getting on base and one run coming across the plate before junior pitcher Nic Schutte settled in to get out of the inning and the bases loaded jam.
The Bruins added a second run in the bottom of the second inning after Murray State recorded three straight outs.
Murray State kept UCLA in check during the third inning, but the Bruins hit Schutte hard in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Bruins plated four runs and almost batted around their order but the Racers got out of the inning.
Murray State finally broke onto the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning courtesy of an RBI single by senior infielder Carson Garner that scored redshirt senior outfielder Jonathan Hogart. The defense of Murray State stepped up and retired the next three UCLA batters.
Junior infielder Luke Mistone opened the top of the sixth inning with a leadoff double. Junior catcher Will Vierling singled to advance Mistone to third base and give the Racers a chance to get another run on the board. Redshirt senior outfielder Dan Tauken hit a sac fly to left field to score Mistone and make the score 6-2.
Murray State tried to put together a late rally in the top of the eighth inning with Vierling drawing a walk to start the inning and Tauken hitting a single. Junior infielder Charlie Jury pinch hit for graduate infielder Nico Bermeo and hit a sacrifice groundout to the shallow outfield to score Vierling. Freshman infielder Conner Cunningham did the exact same thing to score Tauken and cut the Bruins’ lead to two.
Murray State’s defense kept UCLA off the bases, not allowing a batter on base from the fifth inning til the eighth.
Despite the eighth inning rally, the Racers’ three batters in the top of the ninth were retired and UCLA held on to their 6-4 lead to win the game.
Hogart led the Racers’ offense, going 3-5 with a run. Mercer went 2-3 and drew two walks. Cunningham, Garner, Jury and Tauken each had an RBI.
Mercer continued to smile throughout the press conference and was later asked why.
“I never felt famous until I got here,” Mercer said. “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.”
Mercer, while disappointed with the result, was able to keep everything in perspective.
“I’m done playing baseball in two weeks, no matter what,” Mercer said. “I’m just trying to keep (a smile) on my face and enjoy the ride.”
Murray State’s next game is at 1 p.m. on Monday, June 16, where they will play in the elimination bracket against the loser of the LSU-Arkansas game.
