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Kentucky defeated NC State 5-4 in walk-off fashion on Saturday afternoon in Omaha.
The hero was Mitchell Daly, who launched a two-out home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Wildcats the win. Here’s a replay of Daly’s blast:
ANOTHER WALK-OFF IN OMAHA!!!!!!!!!!!#MCWS x ESPN / @UKBaseball pic.twitter.com/VnWAyObW0G
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 15, 2024
For Daly, that was his 2nd hit of the day and his 7th home run of the season.
All 3 College World Series games have had dramatic conclusions so far. Tennessee and North Carolina each won on a walk-off on Friday night to advance to the winner’s bracket. However, this is the first walk-off home run of this year’s CWS.
The Wildcats led for much of this game, but the Wolfpack were able to fight back late. They got a game-tying 2-run home run from Alec Makarewicz in the 7th inning to make it 3-3. Then, in the top of the 9th inning, NC State scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch with 1 out in the inning.
Kentucky wasn’t down for long, however. First basemen Ryan Nicholson led off the bottom half of the 9th inning with a solo home run to tie the game at 4. It was his 22nd blast of the season — and arguably his biggest yet. After getting a couple of runners on base, Kentucky was unable to find the winning run in regulation.
But in the 10th inning, Daly was able to power the Wildcats to victory.
Kentucky was ultimately able to take advantage of a great start by ace Trey Pooser on the mound. He scattered 9 hits over 6.2 innings, but gave up just 3 earned runs. The Wildcats’ bullpen followed up Pooser’s performance with 3.1 innings of 1-run ball.
Kentucky will now await the winner of Texas A&M-Florida on Monday. The Aggies and Gators are set to meet later in the day on Saturday night. If Texas A&M wins, Kentucky would likely see ace Ryan Pager on the mound on Monday. If it’s Florida who is victorious, Kentucky would almost certainly face two-way star Jac Caglianone.
If you’re interested in betting on Kentucky during the College World Series, here’s a DraftKings Kentucky promo to help you get started with a generous bonus bets offer.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
