DURHAM, N.C. — Almost a week to the day it survived a furious late charge from host Mississippi in the deciding game of the NCAA Baseball Championship Oxford Regional, Murray State faced a similar situation Sunday.

The Racers watched a huge lead evaporate last Monday in Oxford to the point they were hanging on for dear life as the Rebels kept coming. Sunday, the Racers showed they had learned a valuable lesson.

They did exactly what they did not do a week ago tonight. They responded … oh did they respond!

After host Duke cut a seven-run lead to only two with a five-run sixth inning, Murray State met that with a colossal nine-run explosion an inning later from which the Blue Devils could not recover in a resounding 19-9 Racer win that puts the program in a third and deciding game for the super regional title and a first-ever visit to the College World Series in Omaha.

That game will be Monday, but no time and television plans were known as of press time Sunday. 

“It’s awesome and we’re going to enjoy it. I told them (in the dugout after the game) that I am thrilled we get one more game together … hopefully more and who knows what is going to happen. But at least we get one more game together. This group is special,” said Murray State Head Coach Dan Skirka, whose team’s best season in program history — now 43-15 — continues after denying the Devils (41-20) their first CWS appearance since 1961. 

And it was the seventh-inning response that may have now become the signature memory so far if this legendary season for the Racer program. With the Devils now nipping at the Racers’ heels at 10-8, Murray State plated nine runs on six hits, two of which were home runs from outfielder Dan Tauken and shortstop Conner Cunningham. 

However, it was the commission of one of the cardinal sins of baseball that set the wheels in motion, a leadoff walk. This served as the immediate counter to a sixth inning in which the Devils cut a 10-3 deficit to 10-8 on a two-run double by Ben Rounds, a run-scoring wild pitch and a two-run home run from Macon Winslow.

Nico Bermeo’s leadoff walk was followed by a Cunningham single to center field. Two batters later, outfielder Dustin Mercer’s single loaded the bases, setting the stage for third baseman Carson Garner (whose two-run homer earlier in the game had given the Racers a 5-2 lead in the second) walked to push the lead to three runs. 

That was only the beginning. 

Second baseman Dom Decker — whose bat has been as hot as the steamy air this weekend in Durham — hurt the Devils again with a two-run seeing-eye single to right that increased the lead to 13-8. That was followed, two batters later, by catcher Will Vierling’s double off the right-field wall that built the lead to 15-8. Tauken’s two-run tater to right followed Vierling’s near-homer with Cunningham, who carries deceptive power for someone his size, sending the first pitch he saw over the right-center wall for another two-run blast on a day the Racers outhit the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Devils by a 17-8 margin, the second straight day Murray State has won the hits stat line (9-6 in Saturday’s 7-4 loss in Game 1).

“It’s not just one guy that sticks out to get all of our runs. It’s a team full of nine guys that are going to do it and pass the stick,” said Garner, who ended the day 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs. He also set a new Murray State single-season record by drawing two walks, giving him 60 this spring.

“That comes from this guy (pointing toward Skirka in the postgame interview room), spending a lot of time with us about having a good approach, being disciplined and tough and being willing to stick your nose in there.”

Murray State’s offensive proficiency was on full display Sunday on the biggest stage. With a national audience watching on ESPNU, Racers had five batters earn more than one hit. Mercer, whose hitting has led to receiving Most Outstanding Player honors at both the Missouri Valley Conference Championship and at the Oxford Regional, was 4-for-6 with an RBI and three runs scored, one day after Decker had four hits. 

Sunday, Decker remained solid, going 2-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored, including a two-run double in the Racer’s five-run fourth. Vierling’s bat also was hot, 3-for-5 with four RBIs of his own and two runs scored, while Cunningham was also 3-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

And a day after watching its pitching staff wither under Duke’s hitting approach that allowed it to lead the nation in walks, the Racers beat the Devils at their own game on Sunday. Murray State took seven walks, compared to only four for Duke.

“We were tough, and that’s been our process all year,” said Vierling, whose team also reached base after batters were hit by pitches. “It’s kind of like passing the baton to get to the next guy. Having good at-bats helps us stay locked in with our process.”

Only one win from a third-ever appearance in the CWS, Duke started quickly with back-to-back home runs from outfielder A.J. Gracia and third baseman Ben Miller against Racer starting pitcher Isaac Silva. However, facing the player that was as responsible as any for the Devils’ Saturday win, starting pitcher Kyle Johnson, the Racers got sweet revenge on Sunday.

As a starting outfielder, Johnson was responsible for five RBIs as a hitter. On the mound, he emerged with the loss after the Racers hammered him for six runs and six hits in only three innings. 

The first salvo was the nation-leading seventh leadoff home run for Racer outfielder Jonathan Hogart that immediately cut Duke’s lead in half. That was followed by first baseman Luke Mistone’s bases-loaded single to left that evened the score at 2-2. Vierling’s first hit of the day — a ringing single to right — then gave the Racer the lead for good at 3-2. 

Garner’s bomb came an inning later, after Hogart led off with a walk. Wallace Clark’s leadoff homer in the third pulled the Devils within two runs but the Racers established a healthy cushion in the fourth. Cunningham’s leadoff single was followed by a Hogart walk and Mercer’s RBI single to center. Decker’s two-run double was followed by Vierling’s first two-run two bagger of the day and a 9-3 lead. An infield error scored the 10th run.

Watch murrayledger.com and the paper’s Facebook page for updates on the time for Monday’s game and how to watch it.