Men's College World Series 2025: LSU bests Arkansas, UCLA defeats Murray State on Day 2
LSU 4, Arkansas 1
LSU picked up a 4-1 win over Arkansas to close out Saturday. The Tigers earned the win against their SEC rival largely off a strong second inning and kept the lead with some great pitching from starter Kade Anderson.
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LSU got things started in the second, loading the bases off star Razorbacks pitcher Zach Root. The Tigers then scored on three consecutive plays. Chris Stanfield and Josh Pearson each notched RBI singles; sandwiched between the two RBI, Michael Braswell III was hit by a pitch to advance the runners for another run.
After that, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn pulled Root early, and sophomore Gabe Gaeckle came in to replace him. Gaeckle put up quite a performance, notching 10 strikeouts across six shutout innings before being replaced in the eighth.
Gaeckle and Anderson each put up a great defensive performance, holding the score at 3-0 through the next three innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Razorbacks finally got on the board with a solo homer from first baseman Reese Robinett.
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Gaeckle held off the LSU offense while on the mound, but the Tigers came right back the minute he left. It took only one batter after Gaeckle was replaced by freshman Cole Gibler, as LSU left fielder Derek Curiel notched an RBI single to put the Tigers up 4-1.
At the start of the eighth, Anderson was replaced after allowing a base hit. The lefty sophomore ended with seven strikeouts on 100 pitches while holding Arkansas to four baserunners.
The Razorbacks' defense held on in the top of the ninth, stranding two LSU batters to keep the score at 4-1. But LSU freshman Casan Evans was able to close out the game and secure the Tigers' victory.
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The Tigers move on to the winners' bracket, next facing UCLA, while Arkansas will try to dispatch Murray State in a must-win game. Both games will take place Monday.
UCLA 6, Murray State 4
Murray State is the underdog darling of the MCWS, having advanced to Omaha as a regional No. 4 seed. But they are one game away from elimination after losing Saturday's opener to UCLA.
Racers pitcher Nic Schutte struggled with his control from the start, walking Dean West and Roch Cholowsky, then giving up a single to Mulivai Levu to load the bases. He then walked Roman Martin on five pitches to bring in the Bruins' first run. However, Schutte retired the next three — with two strikeouts — to limit the damage.
UCLA added to its lead with Cashel Dugger hitting a double to lead off the second. A sacrifice bunt from Phoenix Call advanced Dugger to third before West drove him home with a single.
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The Bruins put the game out of reach in the fourth inning. Following a Dugger lineout, Call and West each singled. They were moved into scoring position by a Cholowsky sacrifice bunt.
With two outs, Schutte could have escaped the inning, but he hit Levu with his first pitch to once again load the bases. Martin then hit an RBI single, followed by a double from AJ Salgado that scored another two runs.
UCLA pitcher Michael Barnett was on his way to getting through five scoreless innings after retiring the first two Racers batters in the fifth. But he allowed a single to Jonathan Hogart and walked Dustin Mercer before leaving the game. Bruins coach John Savage told ESPN reporter Dani Wexelman that Barnett was dealing with leg cramps.
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Wylan Moss took over and gave up an RBI single to Carson Garner for Murray State's first run. The run was charged to Barnett, who finished with one run and three hits allowed, with four strikeouts and four walks in 4 2/3 innings.
The Racers added another run in the sixth on singles by Luke Mistone and Will Vierling, followed by a sacrifice fly from Dan Tauken. They threatened to score more in the seventh against UCLA reliever Jack O'Connor, with Hogart and Mercer leading off the frame with singles. But O'Connor got the next two batters to fly out before August Souza took over and got Mistone to line out.
Souza walked Vierling and gave up a double to Tauken to begin the eighth. Both runners came around to score on RBI groundouts, closing Murray State's deficit to 6-4. But Hogart struck out to end the Racers' last best threat.
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UCLA will enjoy a steak dinner courtesy of Bruins alum Gerrit Cole, according to Savage. The team will face LSU on Monday. Murray State will play Arkansas on Monday in an elimination game.
In the meantime, Racers fans in Omaha can perhaps console themselves with the fact that their school currently ranks second in the Rocco's Jell-O shot challenge.
The MCWS's secondary competition, the Rocco's Jello Shot Challenge, is in full swing after two days of the tournament.
In addition to the win over Arkansas, LSU fans are still holding strong on their Jell-O shot consumption, tallying 10,197 shots as of Saturday evening. As a result, Tigers fans are still well on pace to break their own record.
In contrast, Murray State and Arkansas — once just behind LSU in terms of shot consumption — have fallen behind, with 5,396 and 4,823 shots each.
Once again, the Tigers are really running away with this one.
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