ESPN’s Mike Monaco delivers electric call of Gage Wood’s final out of no-hitter
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Swing and a miss were Mike Monaco’s enthusiastic words to ring in the historic no-hitter thrown by Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood. The swing-and-miss was a big part of Wood’s success on the day, as he recorded 19 strikeouts, most in a 9-inning College World Series game.
Monaco and LSU great Ben McDonald were on the call for the Arkansas-Murray State elimination game. As expected, the booth was overwhelmed to see Wood record the 27th out without allowing a Racer batter to reach safely.
GAGE WOOD THROWS A NO-HITTER WITH 19 STRIKEOUTS IN THE MCWS!
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 16, 2025
Mike Monaco: "SWING AND A MISS! GREATNESS FROM GAGE! NO-HITTER!… the third no-hitter in the history, over 78 years of this event, and the first in 65 years."
Ben McDonald: "I've never seen anything like that…" https://t.co/JFGYZc87PM pic.twitter.com/Bc1ekvPawU
Fans are likely to appreciate that after, “Swing and a miss! Greatness from Gage! A no-hitter!” Monaco let the moment breathe, allowing the sounds of Charles Schwab Field in Omaha to do the talking for the historic moment.
After 45 seconds without speaking, Monaco chimed in that it was only the 3rd no-hitter in College World Series history and 65 years since the last one, when Jim Wixson of Oklahoma State did it in 1960 against North Carolina.
It was then, roughly a full minute after the final out, that McDonald finally chimed in, “I don’t know what to say. I’ve never seen anything like that before, not here at the College World Series.”
Plenty of baseball fans everywhere were left speechless as well witnessing college baseball history.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
