OMAHA, Neb. — Amid the pandemonium after Gage Wood extended Arkansas’ season Monday afternoon, Ryder Helfrick casually slipped a piece of history into his back pocket.
The Arkansas catcher didn’t want anything to happen to the baseball his pitcher just blew by Jonathan Hogart to cap a no-hitter in a 3-0 elimination-game win over Murray State at the College World Series.
“I wasn’t letting anybody touch that ball,” Helfrick told Best of Arkansas Sports in the bowels of Charles Schwab Field.
When the celebration finally died down, Helfrick gifted the ball to Wood — a small memento for what was the most dominant pitching performance in school history.