Kentucky baseball opens NCAA Tournament super regional with a rout of Oregon State
The Kentucky baseball team is one win from its first College World Series appearance after a 10-0 victory against Oregon State in the first game of Lexington Super Regional on Saturday night.
The win was UK’s first in the super regional round of the NCAA Tournament in program history. The Wildcats were swept in their previous two super regional appearances in 2017 and 2023.
Playing in front of a program-record 7,441 fans at Kentucky Proud Park, the Wildcats jumped out to an early lead on an RBI double from first baseman Ryan Nicholson in the bottom of the second inning. UK ace Trey Pooser took it from there with seven scoreless innings.
UK blew the game open with a seven-run seventh inning highlighted by a two-run Nicholson home run.
Here is what you need to know about the win.
KEY MOMENT
While Kentucky never trailed in the game, it was the fifth inning that appeared to fully swing momentum in favor of the Wildcats.
Pooser worked himself into trouble to start the frame by hitting the leadoff batter then sailing a throw of what could have been a double-play grounder into center field. He then walked Oregon State star Travis Bazzana on five pitches to load the bases with one out.
Pooser followed the walk by striking out .400-hitter Micah McDowell and inducing a fielder’s-choice groundout from three-hole hitter Gavin Turley to escape the jam without surrendering a run.
Kentucky loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the frame with a single, hit-by-pitch and a walk. Second baseman Émilien Pitre then gave the Wildcats some breathing room with a two-run double to center field. While Kentucky was unable to add any more runs in the inning, a 1-2-3 inning from Pooser in the top of the sixth ensured UK remained in control of the game.
ON THE MOUND
Pooser, who did not start the season in UK’s weekend rotation, looked every part of an ace against Oregon State, surrendering just one hit in seven innings. Pooser struck out eight batters and walked four. He also hit one batter.
Perhaps most impressively, Pooser was able to hold Bazzana, the No. 1-ranked prospect in the 2024 MLB draft class according to MLB.com, hitless in four plate appearances. The only time Bazanna reached base was during the tense fifth inning when it was clear Kentucky had no plans to give him a pitch to hit with men on base.
Pooser’s final pitch, his 108th of the game, resulted in a hard flyout to the warning track in left field from Bazanna.
Left-handed reliever Jackson Nove recorded the final six outs, four via strikeout, to complete the one-hit shutout.
AT THE PLATE
Nicholson, who hit two home runs in UK’s NCAA Tournament regional to earn MVP honors, was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and one run scored. The seventh-inning home run was his 21st of the season, moving him into sole possession of fourth place on UK’s single-season home run list. The program record is 23 home runs in a season, a number three different Wildcats have hit.
Designated hitter Nick Lopez was 2-for-5 with a double and one run scored. Third baseman Mitchell Daly drove home a run with a squeeze bunt in the seventh inning. The final three runs of the seventh inning all scored on wild pitches.
The game might not have been as close as it was through six innings if Kentucky had taken advantage of multiple earlier scoring opportunities.
The Wildcats ran into an out at third base in the fourth inning after a poor attempt at a sacrifice bunt earlier in the frame. After scoring two in the fifth, Kentucky could not bring home men on second and third with no outs. The first two batters reached in the sixth to chase Oregon State starter Aiden May from the game, but reliever Joey Mundt retired the next three batters without surrendering a run.
WHAT’S NEXT
Kentucky can clinch its first College World Series with a win Sunday in a game that will start at 9 p.m. Morehead native Mason Moore, who has not surrendered a run in 20 1/3 career NCAA Tournament innings, is expected to get the start for UK.
Per NCAA rules, Oregon State will be the home team in Sunday’s game, but another capacity crowd is expected at Kentucky Proud Park. Tickets for the super regional sold out earlier in the week.
If Oregon State wins Sunday, the teams would play a winner-take-all game on Monday at a to-be-determined time. Sunday’s game will be televised on ESPNU.