On Monday, June 17, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET in Omaha, Nebraska, Mitchell Daly hit a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to secure a thrilling 5-4 victory for Kentucky over North Carolina State. This marked the third consecutive Men’s College World Series game to end in walk-off fashion.
Kentucky had tied the game in the ninth inning with Ryan Nicholson’s home run, but Daly sealed the win with his shot into the left-field bullpen with two outs. The Wildcats had an impressive record of 46-14 and were playing in their first MCWS. They will face Texas A&M on Monday night, who had just defeated Florida 3-2. North Carolina State had a record of 38-22 and will play Florida in an elimination game on Monday afternoon.
Coach Nick Mingione was proud of his team’s determination and confidence as they secured their first MCWS victory. Ryan Nicholson expressed his excitement and confidence in the team’s performance and potential going forward. The game was tied at 4 after Nicholson’s dramatic home run that barely cleared the left-field fence, despite opportunities to score more runs. It was only until Daly’s game-winning home run off North Carolina State’s closer, Derrick Smith, that Kentucky could finally secure their victory.
The atmosphere in Omaha was electric as fans cheered for both teams throughout the game. Daly acknowledged the support and energy of the fans as he stepped up to bat for his winning homerun. The walk-off trend continued from previous MCWS games with North Carolina and Tennessee also securing victories with bottom-of-the-ninth singles in their openers on Sunday night.
In summary, Kentucky secured a hard fought victory against North Carolina State on Monday night at Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Park with Mitchell Daly’s walk-off home run securing a thrilling win for Kentucky while setting program records for wins in a season (46) and marking it as their first Men’s College World Series appearance (MCWS).
