Kentucky baseball advances to the College World Series

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Kentucky baseball team is heading to the College World Series for the first time in program history.

The Wildcats completed the sweep over Oregon State with a 3-2 win in game two of the Lexington Super Regional. The game started on Sunday at 9 p.m. and ended after midnight Monday morning in front of a record 7,558 fans packed into Kentucky Proud Park.

Kentucky took a 1-0 lead in the second on Nolan McCarthy’s double down the left field line, allowing Ryan Nicholson to score. Then, in the fourth, McCarthy delivered again, this time with a perfectly executed bunt on the safety squeeze to score Mitchell Daly.

Oregon State’s only two runs of the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning on a pair of bases-loaded walks. Kentucky pitchers held the Beavers to just two hits in the game.

In the top of the seventh, Kentucky took the lead on a wild pitch to the backstop, allowing McCarthy to hustle home from second. Still, Oregon State had their chances late to tie or take the lead, but the stellar Kentucky defense kept the Beavers off the scoreboard.

Kentucky’s saves leader, Johnny Hummel, came in for the final out of the game, striking out Micah McDowell on three pitches.

The College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, begins next weekend. The bracket will be finalized after all Super Regionals are complete. The Wildcats will face either Georgia or NC State.

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