Arkansas finally on the other side of College World Series history

In 2019, it was Drew Parrish and J.C. Flowers of Florida State who outdueled Isaiah Campbell and Cody Scroggins in a 1-0 defeat that eventually led to the Hogs going 0-2.

In 2022, in the national semifinal, it was Ole Miss’ Dylan DeLucia’s four-hit shutout that got the better of eight innings of two-run ball from Connor Noland.

In the CWS record book, each of the 127 shutouts is listed with the pitchers who pitched in it the team, the team they pitched for, and then the team it was against.

For far too long, the record book always said: “vs. Arkansas.” The Hogs always found themselves on the receiving end of historic performances from other teams. 

Three years after their most recent heartbreak, the Hogs finally had their moment in the sun. Gage Wood struck out 19 of the 28 batters he faced and left no doubt with the third no-hitter in CWS history and the first since 1960.

“I'll be the first one to say it,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “There's nothing being said or talked about our dugout whatsoever. We're just going to let him roll.”

For as complicated as pitching can be in modern baseball with all the data and analytics, this was not that. Wood continued to pump fastball after fastball to a team that loves to hit the fastball. 

Thirteen of his 19 strikeouts came on the fastball, fitting for someone who came into the day with the highest swing-and-miss rate on his fastball in Division I, according to the ESPN broadcast.

“I was just hearing fastball middle in my ear and throwing it over the plate,” Wood said.

As long as Wood kept landing the fastball, catcher Ryder Helfrick, one of the few catchers in college allowed to call a game, was more than happy to keep putting one finger down and letting Wood grip it and rip it.

“It's just go with his best pitches,” Helfrick said. “Today the fastball was working, the curve was working. The cutter was there when we needed it, the change-up. It was all there. It's really good to call it. If they're a good fastball-hitting team, make them prove it.”

Prove it they could not. It was poetic that the game ended against Jonathan Hogart on a swinging strikeout on a high fastball. Hogart had been one of the breakout stars in the NCAA Tournament, going 12-for-37 (.324) in eight games with at least one hit in each game.

“He had a little crossfire with the ride at the top [with the fastball],” Hogart said. “Looked like it was down the middle. It looked like it just kept rising away from you. The dude was electric tonight. Nineteen strikeouts, that's coming from a team that doesn't do that a lot.”

The hitters were caught in between all afternoon long. Coach Dan Skirka explained some of the confused looks that his team gave after they came back to the dugout after each strikeout.

“Hearing the guys coming back it was like — somebody said, ‘Man, that one had ride,’" Skirka said. “The next one that came in, ‘That didn't have ride; it cut.’ Then he got some guys with his breaking ball. Just everything was working for him today and just kept us off balance and we couldn't get on the barrel at all."

There is no trophy for this win. Both Helfrick and Wood expressed postgame that they're just glad they get to stay in Omaha. The road just to make the College World Series is improbable, if not impossible, but a complete game that saves the bullpen entirely makes it slightly easier.

No matter what happens, it’s nice for the Razorbacks to hear another coach talk about a dominating performance in a win for the Hogs.

The road continues against the loser of the UCLA and LSU game 6 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN.