MSU Beats Georgia Tech - Advances to Oxford Regional Final

Saturday, May 31

Oxford, Miss.

Murray State

41-13

Georgia Tech

41-18

Georgia Tech

Murray State

Photo by: David Eaton-Murray State Athletics

MSU Beats Georgia Tech - Advances to Oxford Regional Final

6/1/2025 12:08:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Murray State Racers scored a 13-11 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets to make a spot for themselves in the finals of the 2025 NCAA Tournament Oxford Regional at Swayze Field in Mississippi.

The Racers (41-13) also surpassed the 1975 team with their 41st victory of the season as they pushed their postseason winning streak to six games with the two wins here this weekend and last week's four wins to win the championship of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

On Sunday, the Racers await the winner of Ole Miss and Georgia Tech in a 6 p.m. CT game which will be MSU's chance to advance to the NCAA Super Regional for the first time.

The first meeting in the history of the Racers and Yellowjackets program started off with Georgia Tech, scoring three runs in the first, but the Racers answered with five runs of their own in the bottom of the first. MSU took a 10-3 lead in the fourth inning, but Tech answered with seven runs of their own at the top of the fifth to tie the game 10-10.

Jonathan Hogart's 18th homer of the season in the seventh inning gave the Racers the lead for good as they tacked on two more runs on a sacrifice fly by Luke Mistone and a pair of home runs by Dan Talken, which brought his season total to 10. Mistone earlier hit his third homer of the season.

Isaac Silva started the game for the Racers on the mound, but after giving up three runs in the first, he regained his form and retired the next 14-straight Georgia Tech batters. Dylan Zentko and Graham Kelham teamed up to pitch 4 2/3 innings with only run one run given and six strikeouts. Kelham picked up his six save of the season.

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Game Notes

The Racers' 41^st win of the 2025 season is a new record for the 86 seasons of MSU Baseball as they top the 40 wins that was posted by the 1975 team that was coached by MSU legend Johnny Reagan.
MSU is 30-1 when leading after six innings.
MSU is 26-3 when scoring first and 19-3 when scoring in their first at bat.
When MSU hits two or more home runs they are 16-1.
In the first inning, the Racers have scored opponents 67-37 in 2025.
The first inning was a marathon in itself as the Racers and Yellow Jackets combined for 48 minutes game time, eight runs, seven hits, 12 baserunners and 82 pitches thrown.
Those 82 pitches are the most for an inning so far in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
After the rough first inning, Isaac Silva settled down and set down the next 11 Tech batters.
Dan Tauken pushed his 2025 RBI total to 71 with his ninth and 10^th homers of the season and becomes just the third Racer to drive in 70 runs following MSU Hall of Famer Wes Cunningham, who has the MSU record with 86 RBI in 2010 and Brandon Gutzler who drove in 71 in 2017.
Carson Garner posted two walks and now has 56 walks this season and is two from catching the 58 posted in 1974 by MSU Hall of Famer Jack Perconte as the MSU single season record.
Dustin Mercer is 6-for-8 with three runs scored, five doubles, three walks and three RBIs.
Dom Decker has an on-base streak that is now 36 games long.
Through two games of the Oxford Regional, the Racers are hitting .347 (26-for-75) and opponents are .247 (18-of-73).
The Racers have out-homered the opponents 5-3 this week.
MSU pitching has struck out 23 batters in 18 innings in the two games.
Missouri Valley Conference baseball teams are a combined 10-3 in NCAA Regionals during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 tournaments.
The Racers will be trying to make it three in a row for the MVC to get one of their teams to the NCAA Super-Regional following Indiana State (2023) and Evansville in (2024).
The Racers are 4-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
The Racers are the only No. 4 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament to start 2-0 at the regional.
MSU is the 10^th No. 4 seed to start the NCAAs 2-0 since 1999 – six of the previous nine teams that did it, won their regional.