The Murray State Racers are about to be embraced as the College World Series’ lovable underdogs by local fans looking to adopt a team for the week.

Arkansas has its starter lined up as the Razorbacks look to fight off elimination for a 2nd straight day at the College World Series.

Root (3.82 ERA, 1.19 WHIP) will pitch for the Razorbacks (49-14) during their elimination game against UCLA (48-17). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., but delays to that start time are possible due to an earlier game between Oregon State and Louisville, plus elevated rain and thunderstorm chances in Omaha.

Murray State won a regional at Ole Miss and a super regional at Duke to become the fourth No. 4 seed to make it to Omaha. The Racers are led by Dan Skirka, the national coach of the year who had a pit stop at Ouachita Baptist early in his coaching career.

UCLA is in the middle of a battle with Murray State in the Opening Round of the College World Series. At the moment, Michael Barnett has been leading the charge on the mound for the Bruins, blanking the Racers.

Six conferences and an independent will be represented at the College World Series, and none of the teams were among the final eight in Omaha a year ago. In 2024, the SEC and ACC had four teams apiece in the CWS and all the talk was that college baseball would forevermore