Daly's walk-off homer lifts Cats over NC State
Mitchell Daly's two-out home run to left field in the 10th inning gives Kentucky a thrilling 5-4 win over NC State in the Wildcats' first-ever game at College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
Mitchell Daly's Kentucky teammates waited for his arrival at home plate after the senior third baseman hit a two-out, walk-off home run in the 10th inning to beat NC State 5-4 on Saturday at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. (Steven Branscombe/USA Today Sports)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK
Kentucky's ability to stay in the moment paved the way to the Wildcats' first win ever at the College World Series.
After seeing NC State erase leads of 1-0 and 3-1 and eventually grab what could have been a demoralizing 4-3 advantage in the ninth inning, Kentucky got a pair of late home runs to author another cliffhanger chapter in its storybook season.
Ryan Nicholson smashed an opposite-field home run to left in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings, and Mitchell Daly clubbed a two-out homer into the left-field bullpen in the 10th inning to give the Wildcats a thrilling 5-4 walk-off win over the Wolfpack at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
It marked the seventh -- and by far the most impactful -- home run of the season for Daly, who ambushed NC State closer Derrick Smith's 1-2 pitch to spark a wild celebration at home plate for the blue-clad winners.
"I was just trying to see the slider up (in the zone)," said the grad senior third baseman who transferred to UK this season after starting his college career at Texas, where he made it to the CWS twice with the Longhorns. "(Kentucky assistant coach Austin Cousino) said he leaves it up sometimes, and I saw it up, so I swung hard."
The blast sends 2-seed Kentucky (46-14) to play the winner of today's second game -- unseeded Florida versus 3-seed Texas A&M -- on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.
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CatsIllustrated - Daly's walk-off homer lifts Cats over NC State
Big blast gives UK 5-4 win in 10th inning.
kentucky.rivals.com
