Bat Cats to open CWS against NC State
Kentucky's Grant Smith pumped his fist as the Wildcats' dugout celebrated their team taking the lead over Oregon State on Sunday night in the NCAA Lexington Super Regional championship game. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
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@JDrumUK
A day after capturing its first trip to the College World Series, Kentucky now knows who it will face in the opening round at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
NC State defeated Georgia 8-5 on Monday in Game 3 of the Athens Super Regional, sending the Wolfpack into Kentucky's starting bracket of the double-elimination CWS.
The 2-seed Wildcats (45-14) will face the 10-seed Wolfpack (38-21) on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
The winner of the first game will get the winner of the Texas A&M/Florida matchup on Monday, June 17, at 6 p.m. ET. The two losers will play Monday at 1 p.m. ET in an elimination game.
This year's College World Series features four teams from the SEC and four teams from the ACC. Tennessee joins the Wildcats, Aggies, and Gators in Omaha, while the ACC will also be represented by Florida State, North Carolina, and Virginia.
NC State finished second in the ACC Atlantic Division this season behind Clemson. Head coach Elliott Avent led his resilient club to 16 come-from-behind victories this season.
The Wolfpack lineup is led by third baseman Alec Makarewicz (.380 BA, 22 HR, 80 RBI) and first baseman Garrett Pennington (.348 BA, 18 HR, 65 RBI). Catcher Jacob Cozart is another dangerous bat with 19 home runs on the season, but NC State finished toward the bottom of the league in team batting average (.288) and runs scored, well behind the other three ACC teams in Omaha, who are 1-2-3 in the latter category.
On the mound, right-hander Sam Highfill (7-2) got the starting nod for the Wolfpack in Game 1 of the Athens Super Regional. He got the stress-free win, allowing only one run on four hits and three walks while striking out two in an 18-1 blowout of the Bulldogs. Highfill has a 5.06 ERA in 16 starts this season, but opposing batters only hit .225 against him.
Lefty Dominic Fritton (7.35 ERA) worked Game 2 of the Athens Super Regional, an 11-2 victory for Georgia, and right-hander Logan Whitaker (6.23 ERA) struck out seven UGA batters in just 4.1 innings on the mound in the Game 3 rubber match. Hard-throwing right-hander Derrick Smith (4.50 ERA, 8 saves, 41 K/9 BB in 28 IP) closed that game out with three strong innings out of the bullpen.
NC State has a 6.11 team ERA and allowed an ACC-high 94 home runs.
The pitching staff and catchers did, however, lead the league in controlling the opposing ground game, allowing only 62.5% (35 of 56) base-stealers to succeed, a defensive facet that could prove to be important against a Kentucky team that led the SEC with 118 steals this season, 16 more than the next closest team in the league. By contrast, the Wolfpack stole only 44 bases this season.
NC State will be making their fourth trip to Omaha and its third since 2013. The two programs met in the 2017 NCAA Lexington Regional with Kentucky advancing to its first Super Regional in program history during head coach Nick Mingione's first season with the Cats.
