OMAHA, Neb. — Mitchell Daly homered in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Kentucky a 5-4 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday, the third straight Men's College World Series game to end in a walkout.
The Wildcats had tied it in the bottom of the ninth on a Ryan Nicholson home run, and Daly ended the game with two outs when he launched a throw into the left field bullpen.
Kentucky (46-14), in its first MCWS, set a program record for wins in a season and will play the winner of Saturday night's Florida-Texas A&M matchup on Monday night. NC State will play loser Florida-Texas A&M in an elimination game on Monday afternoon.
“What a response. What a response. I mean, when I tell you guys in the ninth, this team had real faith,” Wildcats coach Nick Mingione said. “They really thought we were going to win the game.”
The Wolfpack (38-22) entered the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead in their first game in Omaha since a COVID-19 outbreak on the team led the NCAA to remove them from the 2021 MCWS after their third game .
But Nicholson cut Jacob Dudan's 96 mph fastball just inside the left field foul pole, and just over the fence, for his 22nd home run to tie the score at 4.
“It feels good to be the foundation of what we're trying to produce for this show,” Nicholson said. “This game is a very good starting point and a great way to build confidence in the future. We didn't come here to be happy to be here. We came here to win games.”
The Wildcats got a runner to third after that, but couldn't push it out. After Johnny Hummel (4-0) pitched a 1-2-3 in the top of the 10th, the stage was set for Daly.
“Kentucky (Big Blue Nation), the energy around this place is special,” Daly said. “Giving the fans an ending like that is pretty amazing.”
The Texas transfer was down 1-2 against closer Derrick Smith (3-2) when he turned a pitch and lofted it high down the line and over the fence, the ball staying clean despite a gust of wind. of 25 mph pushed her to the left.
North Carolina and Tennessee won their MCWS openers on Friday with singles in the bottom of the ninth, making it the first time in the event's 74-year history that three consecutive games ended in walkouts. It was also the second time that the first three games of the MCWS were decided by one run; Last year was the first time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
