Editor’s note: The start of Saturday night’s game between Texas A&M and Florida has been delayed because of weather. – Jerry
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Another game at the Men’s College World Series. Another dramatic sequence of events in the final innings for the history books. The second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats emerged victorious Saturday afternoon, defeating the No. 10 North Carolina State Wolfpack, 5-4, scoring the winner in the bottom of the 10th on a walk-off solo homer by former University of Texas infielder Mitchell Daly.
It was the third time in two days that a game in the MCWS was decided by a walk-off winner. On opening day Friday, in another bracket, North Carolina’s Vance Honeycutt beat the Virginia Cavaliers 3-2 on a RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. In Friday’s second game, Dylan Dreiling drilled a two-out, RBI single, capping a four-run bottom of the ninth inning and lifting the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers to a 12-11 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.
North Carolina State, which eliminated No. 7 seed Georgia in the Super Regional, battled Kentucky until the end in the opener of a two-game set Saturday. The Wolfpack tied the game in the top of the seventh inning on a two-run homer by Alec Makarewicz. In the top of the ninth, they scored a run on a wild pitch to take a 4-3 lead. Kentucky responded in the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run by Ryan Nicholson to tie.
In Kentucky’s MCWS opener, both in history and this weekend, Daly supplied the hit in the 10th that handed the victory to the Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference. Daly started at second base for Texas in the 2022 CWS. Kentucky will advance to play on Monday against either Texas A&M or Florida, who were set to play Saturday night. The tournament is being played at Charles Schwab Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
Records
Kentucky 46-14
North Carolina State 38-22
Coming up
Saturday night: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. Florida.
Sunday: Virginia vs. Florida State, 1 p.m., elimination game. North Carolina vs. Tennessee, 6 p.m., winners bracket.
Monday: North Carolina State vs. Saturday night loser, 1 p.m., elimination game. Kentucky vs. Saturday night winner, 6 p.m., winners bracket.