Kentucky walks off NC State for first College World Series victory

It took an extra inning, but the Kentucky Wildcats won their College World Series debut in thrilling fashion, walking off NC State in the bottom of the 10th to win 5-4.

Senior infielder Mitchell Daly smashed the game-winning home run with two outs to give Kentucky its first win ever in Omaha. It was just Daly’s seventh homer of the season and his second in the game.

It came after the Bat Cats trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th until senior infielder Ryan Nicholson blasted a homer to tie the game and give his team a chance to win it in extra innings.

This also gave Kentucky a program-record 46th win in a single season.

Starting pitcher Trey Pooser went 6.3 innings and allowed three runs while striking out three and walking two.

Kentucky got the scoring started in the 1st inning when senior infielder Nick Lopez notched an RBI single.

Junior outfielder Nolan McCarthy hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 4th to give Kentucky a 3-1 lead before the Wolfpack scored two in the top of the 7th to tie the game, then got another in the top of the 9th to take a 4-3 lead before the Bat Cats rallied for the victory.

The Bat Cats will next play Monday at 7 pm ET vs. the winner of Florida – Texas A&M, which is about to get underway. That game will be broadcast on ESPN.

With the victory today, Kentucky assures itself of playing beyond Monday. A win Monday, and the Cats advance to Wednesday. A loss means they’ll have to play Tuesday.

Go CATS!!