The Racers, who fell in Game 1 of the Durham Super Regional to Duke on Saturday, June 7, rallied to win Games 2 and 3 on June 8 and June 9 respectively, to advance to the College World Series, becoming the fourth No. 4 seed to ever punch a ticket to Omaha.
Murray State won the Oxford Regional over No. 10 Ole Miss before taking on Duke, which won the Athens Regional vs. No. 7 Georgia.
Murray State (44-15) won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to reach the NCAA tournament and is entering the CWS with plenty of confidence. It now shifts its focus to No. 15 UCLA, which the Racers face in the opening round on Saturday, June 14.
Here’s a look at the other No. 4 seeds to reach the College World Series, and how they fared in the tournament:
No. 4 seeds to reach CWS
Murray State became the fourth No. 4 seed to ever reach the College World Series on June 9. No. 4 seeds were added to the NCAA tournament when the field expanded to 64 teams in 1999.
The Racers join Oral Roberts (2023), Stony Brook (2012) and Fresno State (2008) as No. 4 seeds to reach Omaha, Nebraska. Fresno State is the lone No. 4 seed to ever win the national championship.
Here’s a look at how each No. 4 seed fared at the CWS:
No. 4 seed records at CWS
Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts went 52-14 in 2023, winning the Summit League tournament to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. It defeated Oklahoma State in the Stillwater Regional and Oregon in the Eugene Super Regional to reach the CWS.
The Golden Eagles won their opening game of the CWS against TCU, advancing to the winner’s bracket. However, Oral Roberts then dropped its next two games, falling to Florida and then TCU in a loser’s bracket grudge match.
Stony Brook
Stony Brook had quite the run in 2012, defeating Miami in the Coral Gables Regional before upsetting No. 7 LSU in the Baton Rouge Super Regional to reach the College World Series. Like Murray State, Stony Brook dropped Game 1 of the super regional series before winning back-to-back games to take the series.
The Seawolves ran out of gas in Omaha, however, falling to UCLA 9-1 in the first round before losing again to Florida State 12-2 in an elimination game.
Fresno State
Fresno State started the season ranked No. 21 in the preseason polls, but quickly didn’t live up to expectations before winning the WAC tournament to earn an NCAA tournament bid.
The Bulldogs faced adversity in the Long Beach Regional, reaching the winner’s bracket before losing to San Diego 15-1 in Game 1 of the regional final. Fresno State then won the if-necessary game of the regional 5-1 to advance.
Fresno State lost Game 1 of the Tempe Super Regional to Arizona State, before winning back-to-back games against the Sun Devils on the road to reach the CWS. It later took Fresno State three games to win the national championship series, as well, as the Bulldogs faced elimination four times in the NCAA tournament.
The Bulldogs beat Rice 17-5 and North Carolina 5-3 to reach the semifinals, where they lost to North Carolina 4-3 before winning 6-1 to make the national championship series. They then lost Game 1 of the series 7-6 before beating Georgia 19-10 and 6-1 in back-to-back games to win their first and only national title in program history.
Murray State enters the College World Series having played three games facing elimination, including back-to-back super regional games against Duke. The Racers will try to duplicate Fresno State’s historic 2008 run in their first CWS appearance this season.