Kentucky baseball advances to second straight super regional with shutout of Indiana State
Kentucky baseball is headed to a super regional for the second consecutive season.
The top-seeded Wildcats finished an undefeated weekend in the Lexington Regional with a 5-0 win over No. 2 seed Indiana State on Sunday after a 90-minute rain delay. The No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky had never played in a super regional before Nick Mingione was hired as coach but will play in one for the third time since he was hired before the 2017 season.
Right-handed pitcher Mason Moore led the way with six scoreless innings for his ninth win of the season, and first baseman Ryan Nicholson slugged his second home run of the regional.
Here is what you need to know about the game.
KEY MOMENT
Moore appeared to tire in the fifth inning, walking the first two batters but was able to work out of trouble with some help from his defense.
After Moore struck out Indiana State leadoff man Randall Diaz, UK shortstop Grant Smith made perhaps the play of the season by ranging far to his left into shallow left field to make a diving catch of a pop-up. Moore then escaped the jam by inducing a groundout to third baseman Mitchell Daly, which Nicholson corralled on a low throw.
Smith had also helped Moore work around a leadoff single in the first inning with a diving stop that he flipped to second baseman Émilien Pitre for a double play.
AT THE PLATE
Kentucky scored single runs in each of the first three innings for an early lead. The big blast in that sequence was Nicholson’s second-inning homer. Nicholson became just the ninth player in program history to hit 20 home runs in a season.
Pitre added a two-run shot in the seventh inning for some needed insurance. Catcher Devin Burkes and center fielder Nolan McCarthy also drove in runs. Pitre scored twice. Smith reached base twice with a single and a walk and scored a run.
ON THE MOUND
Moore actually came back on the mound for another inning after the tense fifth and looked as dominant as he had all night, striking out the final two batters he faced. He struck out six batters and walked three in six innings while allowing four hits.
The performance stretched Moore’s NCAA Tournament scoreless streak to 20 1/3 innings across the last two seasons.
Left-handed reliever Jackson Nove followed Moore, recording two outs in the seventh inning before being replaced by right-handed pitcher Cameron O’Brien. In his second appearance of the regional, O’Brien recorded the final seven outs without surrendering a run for his first save of the season. He struck out five batters and walked one while surrendering one hit.
WHAT’S NEXT
Kentucky will host a super regional for the first time in program history next weekend against the winner of the Corvallis Regional. No. 1 seed Oregon State held a 6-4 lead over No. 2 seed UC Irvine in the Sunday game of that regional when it was suspended due to rain. The game will be resumed Monday. UC Irvine must beat Oregon State twice to advance.
Super regionals, which will start on Friday or Saturday, are played in a best-of-three format. Kentucky will learn when its super regional starts after the conclusion of the Corvallis Regional. A win in the super regional would give Kentucky its first College World Series berth.
This story was originally published June 2, 2024 at 10:31 PM.