LEXINGTON, Ky. – At 12:33 a.m. on a cool June night in Lexington, the Kentucky baseball program accomplished a goal more than 100 years in the making, defeating Oregon State 3-2 in front of a delirious Kentucky Proud Park record crowd to seal a trip to college baseball’s mecca.
The Wildcats are headed to Omaha.
Reliever Johnny Hummel dropped in a perfectly bended breaking ball, stranding the tying run 90 feet away and sending a dugout full of blue-clad players streaming onto the turf as gloves and caps rained down.
And in true Kentucky baseball fashion the game-winning run came on a hair-on-fire dash from Nolan McCarthy, the edgy centerfielder who has never met a moment he wasn’t ready to try and turn into something memorable.
Now, for eternity, his name will be synonymous with one of the most historical moments in the school’s athletics history. He drove in two of the three runs, scored the winner and smoked a pair of doubles that had his teammates telling assembled media he was “crazy.”
But McCarthy’s scramble and Superman slide into home only mattered because pitching coach Dan Roszel’s staff allowed just three hits in two games against one of the nation’s top offenses. Both of Oregon State’s runs came on bases loaded walks.
More than two hours after the game, both McCarthy and catcher Devin Burkes, the heart and soul of the Wildcats, smiled broadly and said the first trip came the only way it could – with the Cats kicking the door down.
NOTES
· Kentucky now is 45-14 in 2024.
- 45 wins ties for the most in school history (2012).
- Kentucky is 19-3 in night games.
- Kentucky is 26-6 at home.
· The crowd of 7,558 set a new all-time Kentucky record, previously set in Game One (7,448).
· Kentucky is 5-0 in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
· Kentucky won its first-ever Super Regional.
· Kentucky’s pitchers have allowed four run over the last 39 innings.
· Kentucky now has won 17 games this season vs. ranked opponents.
· UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his eighth season at the helm and now owns a 261-164 career record.
o Mingione now is the second-winningest coach in school history.
o UK is 13-6 in the NCAA Tournament under Mingione.
- UK is 2-4 in NCAA Super Regional action.
- Junior Mason Moore did not allow a hit in 3.1 innings but gave up two runs on bases loaded walks.
- His scoreless streak in the NCAA Tournament to start his career ended at 23.2 innings on back-to-back bases loaded walks in the fourth.
- Graduate Johnny Hummel earned his seventh save of the season.
- Graduate Cameron O’Brien struck out five in 3.0 innings of scoreless relief.
- Junior Robert Hogan pitch 2.1 hitless shutout innings.
- Junior Nolan McCarthy went 2-for-2 with a run, two RBI, a SAC and two doubles.
- He scored the winning run.
ON DECK
Kentucky advances to the College World Series and will face the winner of Monday’s Georgia/NC State game.