The 2025 Ƶ baseball tournament regional round was filled with memorable moments.
It featured pinnacle program wins, stories noteworthy enough for future grandchildren and losses that left teams with a gut-wrenching, ‘what-if’ feeling.
And it didn’t just stop at teams, some players rose to the occasion in a significant way. Here are nine players who had ‘Hang it in the Louvre’ like performances.
Wright State’s Griffen Paige throws gem to eliminate top-seed Vanderbilt
Right-hander Cam Allen had No. 1 Vanderbilt bent out of shape on the opening day of regionals. The sophomore had a no-hitter through six innings, topped by seven strikeouts with a 3-0 lead.
However, Allen didn’t return to the mound in the seventh. No. 4 Wright State turned to its pitching staff to complete the job, but the Raiders ended up losing 4-3.
Two days later, left-hander Griffen Paige redeemed his starting partner. He threw a one-hitter in Wright State’s rematch against No. 1 Vanderbilt, tossing eight innings and surrendering just two runs with three strikeouts.
He pitched like the get-back was personal.
It was the longest outing of the sophomore’s career and helped make tournament history, stopping the first No. 1 national seed from making the regional final.
Oklahoma State’s Kollin Ritchie hits, robs home run in same inning
Cowboys center fielder Kollin Ritchie was one of the biggest bright spots for No. 3 Oklahoma State in the regionals, recording nine RBIs and four home runs in three games.
But that’s not the entire reason why he sent Foley Field into a frenzy on Sunday.
The sophomore shined in the field and at the plate in the regional final loss to No. 2 Duke, hitting the Cowboys’ sole home run of the game and robbing one all in the same inning.
In the top half of the inning, Ritchie cranked left-hander Henry Zatkowski’s offspeed pitch into Foley Field’s right field trees, giving OSU a 2-0 lead. Minutes later, Ritchie was airborne in left center, leaping up and taking away Duke right fielder Tyler Albright’s near home run.
🤯🤯
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball)
What can't do?!
If he's not hitting them, he's robbing them!
You paying attention ?!?!
The defensive play was video game-like, happening so quickly that one wouldn’t be able to process it all in real time.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: Ƶ baseball tournament scores, regionals schedule
Arizona’s Walton and White crush three homers in consecutive games
The Wildcats sparked a power surge during the regional round, blasting 15 home runs and scoring 31 runs across three games — 14 in each of the last two contests.
And the downpour hasn't been a common theme for the Wildcats. The regional home run total matched the total number of homers the team had in the last 10 games of the regular season.
The main electricians were shortstop Mason White and center fielder Aaron Walton, who hit seven of the 15 and put together back-to-back three-run performances. They became the ninth and tenth players in program history with three home runs in a single contest — the first and second to do so in a postseason game.
tired: one regional homer hat trick
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball)
wired: two regional homer hat tricks
White accomplished the feat in Arizona’s second regional game against No. 4 Utah Valley, mashing all three in consecutive at-bats. Walton collected his in the regional final versus No. 3 Cal Poly, homering in the first, second and sixth innings.
North Carolina’s Gavin Gallaher hits .722, wins regional Most Outstanding Player
The Tar Heels finished on the mountaintop of the Chapel Hill Regional, beating No. 2 Oklahoma to reach their second straight Super Regionals.
The biggest contributor? Third baseman Gavin Gallaher.
The sophomore reminded fans that there are levels to this, playing head and shoulders above the rest by going 13 for 18 (.722) with 10 RBIs and three homers over the four-game span. In the second regional final game that solidified UNC’s spot in the supers, he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs. He finished two games with four hits and four RBIs.
Gallaher was named the regional’s Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive season.
Maybe postseason affairs on his home turf is the North Carolina third baseman’s bread and butter, which could bode well for Gallaher with the Tar Heels staying at home for the supers.
DAY 4 ACTION: Murray State makes history, Miami returns to the supers on final day of regionals
Arkansas’ Gage Wood, Florida State’s Jamie Arnold punch out 13
Both No. 1 Arkansas and No. 1 Florida State went undefeated in regional play, highlighting the collective success each team had from Friday to Sunday.
Two of these wins included boatloads of swings-and-misses, continuous rounds of applause and large backwards K signs thanks to Razorbacks right-hander Gage Wood and Seminoles’ lefty Jamie Arnold.
Wood and Arnold each dialed up 13 strikeouts against No. 3 Creighton on Sunday and No. 3 Mississippi State on Saturday, respectively.
It was a career-high for the Arkansas junior, completing the feat in just six innings while surrendering three runs. Wood capped off the outing with three straight punchouts in the sixth, and right-hander Gabe Gaeckle finished the job with seven more strikeouts. The strong performances led to an 8-3 win and a ticket to the Super Regionals.
GAGE WOOD. THIRTEEN STRIKEOUTS.
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB)
Arnold fanned three straight batters in both the third and seventh innings during his trek toward the second-most strikeouts in his career. He gave up three runs and five hits across seven innings of work, and helped FSU win its second game of the regionals, 10-3.
Texas’ Casey Borba collects eight RBIs in six innings
Texas third baseman Casey Borba was all smiles against No. 3 Kansas State for bigger reasons than the 15-8 win.
The sophomore had a career day and was responsible for more than half of the Longhorns' runs, driving in eight behind his first multi-homer game. He finished 4-5 with two runs and eight RBIs — all before the seventh inning. Borba crushed a grand slam to right field in the first inning and a three-run homer to left in the third. He added an RBI single to left in the sixth.
grand salami time 💣 |
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball)
He was two RBIs away from tying Ron Gardenhire’s single-game school record of 10 back in 1978.
Although the Longhorns didn’t end like they desired, especially as the No. 2 national seed with MCWS hopes, Borba’s success provides optimism for what’s to come from the underclassmen returning to Austin next year.
NO. 1 SEEDS FALTER: Top two national seeds Vanderbilt and Texas, No. 1 seeds fall in Day 3
Murray State’s Dustin Mercer records seven doubles
The Missouri Valley Conference tournament MVP continued his hot streak in Oxford, turning into a doubles machine and belting seven across four games.
Murray State right fielder Dustin Mercer was a catalyst for the Racers’ offense during the regionals, hitting .555 and tallying two or more hits each contest.
The doubles frenzy started, and was most emphatic, on opening day, when Mercer tallied four to tie the program record and help Murray State upset No. 1 Ole Miss. He hit back-to-back doubles down the third base line in the first and second innings, and two more in the sixth and ninth.
Mercer hit another against No. 2 Georgia Tech on Saturday in the team’s 13-11 victory. He added two more in the Racers' second-to-last game, but none in Murray State's Game 7 win.
