DUGOUT REPORT: Wildcats Walk Off Wolfpack in Extras
No. 11 NC State's Elliott Avent, Sam Highfill, and Alec Makarewicz met with the media following the Wolfpack's 5-4 loss to No. 2 Kentucky Saturday afternoon in the 2024 NCAA Men's College World Series.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch the Wolfpack’s press conference.
No. 2 Kentucky’s (46-14) Mitchell Daly’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning ended No. 11 NC State’s (38-22) opening game in the 2024 NCAA Men’s College World Series Saturday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field, 5-4.
Coming immediately after a Wildcat baserunner got caught stealing for the second out of the inning, the solo shot to left field by Daly was the second for Kentucky in as many innings as Ryan Nicholson connected on an 0-1 pitch in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at four runs apiece after the Wolfpack scored the go-ahead run in the top half of the frame. With the win, the Cats advance to the winner’s bracket of Bracket Two while NC State falls into the elimination bracket.
Highfill started on the mound and tossed seven innings in which he allowed three runs on six hits and two walks while fanning seven batters. Jacob Dudan pitched a scoreless eighth inning before yielding Nicholson’s game-tying homer. Derrick Smith (3-2, 4.55 ERA) succeeded Dudan and stranded a Kentucky runner at third in the ninth but fell one out short of advancing the game into the 11th inning, earning the loss after surrendering the decisive home run.
Emilien Pitre scored the game’s first run for Kentucky in the bottom of the first inning after reaching on a one-out double, moving to third on a failed pickoff attempt by Highfill, then crossing the plate on a single by Nick Lopez. Jacob Cozart would respond in the top of the third with an RBI base hit of his own, driving Garrett Pennington home after the latter began the frame with a leadoff single.
Nolan McCarthy broke the stalemate in the bottom of the fourth inning. After Nicholson led off with a single through the left side, the Kentucky center fielder launched a two-run shot down the left-field line, his eighth homer of the season. The 3-1 advantage for the Wildcats would hold until the top of the seventh when Noah Soles began with a leadoff single before Makarewicz clobbered his 23rd home run of the year to tie the game yet again.
NC State held Kentucky in check for the time being until taking its only lead of the game in the top of ninth inning. Pennington led off with a walk before moving to third base two batters later on a Cozart single. After the Wildcats brought Johnny Hummel (4-0, 3.30 ERA) into the game to pitch, Pennington scampered home on a wild pitch. However, the Pack left two would-be insurance runs on the table, leading to Nicholson’s equalizer in the home half of the inning and, eventually, Daly’s game-ender.
The Wolfpack will face the loser of Saturday evening’s matchup between Florida and Texas A&M on Monday. First pitch from Omaha is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST, 2 p.m. EST.