DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN/AP) — Duke University’s baseball team won’t be traveling to Omaha for the College World Series for the first time in decades after they lost their second Durham Super Regional game to Murray State on Monday night.
The Blue Devils defeated Murray State in the best-of-three series Saturday, but dropped a game Sunday before the Racers rallied for a 5-4 win on Monday night at Jack Coombs Field on the Duke campus in Durham.
Murray State scored two runs in the first inning, but Duke slowly came back with one-run first, third, and fourth innings.
A Murray State home run in the seventh inning tied the game at three. In the eighth inning, Murray State scored a solo home run and then a double brought in another run, leaving Duke down 5-3.
Duke’s Macon Winslow hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to tighten the score 5-4.
The Blue Devils (40-20) were one win from reaching the College World Series for the first time since 1961.
Luke Mistone hit the Murray State go-ahead homer in the eighth inning and Graham Kelham was solid in another long relief appearance in the win and the program’s first College World Series.
Murray State (44-15) became the fourth No. 4 seed to advance to Omaha, Nebraska.
Murray State’s Jonathan Hogart hit his second home run of the game in the seventh inning — his 21st of the season — into the pine trees over the left-field wall to tie it at 3.
Murray State retook the lead in the eighth on Mistone’s leadoff shot — just his fourth homer of the year. Then Dan Tauken’s triple scored Will Vierling from first for a 5-3 lead after the ball caromed off the wall toward center field.
Later in the eighth, the Racers had the bases loaded with no outs after back-to-back walks but James Tallon struck out two and got a groundout to end the threat.
Murray State appeared to win the game after an interference call at second base, but it was overturned after an official review to give Duke another chance. Kelham regrouped after the celebration to get a groundout to first to end it.
Kelham, who threw 43 pitches on Sunday in a three-inning save, struck out four in 2 2/3 innings for his fourth win of the season.
Reid Easterly (9-3) took the loss after allowing two earned runs in three relief innings.