Day 1 of the 2025 NCAA baseball tournament regionals was filled with magic, or what some might describe as the unthinkable.
Even scriptwriters couldn’t have conjured up a series premiere where four No. 1 seeds lost their regional opener — one short of the 2004 record — and a plethora of contests going down to the wire.
Yet, episode two of the tournament backed up those claims, specifically surrounding the success of No. 4 seeds. Here’s a look at how the group fared on day two of the regional round.
Murray State joins historic company with 2-0 start
The Racers won their first NCAA tournament game since 1979 on Saturday, downing No. 1 Ole Miss, 9-6.
Less than 24 hours later, Murray State has etched its name in the tournament’s history books and is a win away from reaching its first-ever super regional. Outlasting No. 2 Georgia Tech on Saturday, 13-11, the Racers became the 10th ever No. 4 seed to go 2-0 in the regional round.
And history has been on these Cinderella-like teams’ sides whenever that happens.
Six of the previous nine teams have won their regional, most recently Evansville in 2024. Two reached the Men’s College World Series with Oral Roberts in 2021 and Fresno State in 2008, which won the national championship.
Murray State arguably drew the toughest regional in the entire field, facing SEC tournament runner-ups in Ole Miss and two other teams batting .315. Yet, the Racers have consistently met firepower with even more firepower, outdueling two of the three foes and closing in on a ticket to the supers.
SHOCKING DAY ONE: FOUR No. 1 seeds fall in opening day of NCAA baseball tournament regionals
SEVEN No. 4 seeds reach Sunday
The NCAA tournament has already completed its first round of cuts, snatching the life out of big names like No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 seed Alabama.
The 16 teams whose seasons ended on Saturday spread out amongst all four seeds. Below is a breakdown of how many defeats each seed suffered.
- No. 1 seeds — One loss
- No. 2 seeds — Three losses
- No. 3 seeds — Three losses
- No. 4 seeds — Nine losses
Even though the number of four seeds that lost make up more than half the 16-team bunch, it’s surprisingly one of the best showings by the group in years.
Ten or more four seeds have been the first team eliminated in their respective regionals over the last six seasons.
So yes, the group does a round of applause.
Three of the No. 4 seeds escaped elimination, here’s how they did it.
No. 4 North Dakota State outlasts No. 2 Kansas
The Bison and Jayhawks couldn’t have had more polar opposite regular seasons.
The Jayhawks broke program record after record on its way to arguably the best campaign in school history. Although the Bison won the Summit League, they were one of two teams with an under .500 record (20-32).
None of that mattered on Saturday, as North Dakota State right-handed pitchers Logan Knight and Danny Lachenmayer stumped the Kansas lineup to help NDSU win 4-3. The two allowed just two earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts.
It was the program’s second-ever NCAA tournament win. They will play Creighton on Sunday in hopes of advancing to the regional final and play Arkansas.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: NCAA baseball tournament scores, regionals schedule
No. 4 Little Rock pummels No. 3 Rhode Island
There was a storm in Baton Rouge Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t the average disturbance that one thinks of when they hear the term.
Little Rock caused a loud disruption in Alex Box Stadium, beating Rhode Island 22-12. It was the Trojans’ first-ever tournament win and the most runs in a single game for them all season.
Little Rock scored in all but two innings, the most coming in the ninth where they plated seven. They will face DBU on Sunday for a chance to play LSU in the regional final.
No. 4 Wright State comes back to beat No. 3 East Tennessee State
The Raiders snapped their eight-game NCAA tournament losing streak on Saturday, scoring three unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings to eliminate No. 3 ETSU 7-5.
It was Wright State’s first tournament win since 2016.
Third baseman Patrick Fultz crushed a solo home run in the seventh to tie it, and shortstop Luke Arnold smacked a go-ahead two-run homer to left center in the eighth.
The score held from there, as right-hander Jarrett Heilman and lefty Chet Lax combined to give up just two hits over the last 4.4 innings of the contest. The Raiders will take on No. 1 Vanderbilt on Sunday and battle for a spot in the regional final against No. 2 Louisville.
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