After a narrow, more than chippy upset win over Wake Forest in the Morgantown Regional's opening contest, Kentucky entered an apparent uphill battle with the top-seeded Wake Forest Mountaineers. And, after more sparks flew and runs chalked in either direction, the Wildcats surprised once again. Nick Mingione and Kentucky are moving on.
KSR publicized the 11-9 final score on X, suggesting a State Street celebration may be in order if Mingione's Wildcats continue to tear through their regional bracket. While nobody necessarily expected this, Kentucky has always had this potential waiting in the wings.
This is a team that started the year nationally ranked and were, at one point, 18-3 overall. Is this a simple momentary burst of momentum, or the sort of long-time-coming success that the Big Blue Nation have been hoping for all season.
We'll have to wait and see. That's the nature of moving on.
Kentucky Moves On
Kentucky, now in the regional final, are one win away from their third Super Regional appearance in the past four seasons. Much has been debated, at least recently, about Mingione's success in Lexington, but his consistent ability to surprise in the postseason speaks for itself.
The Bat Cats are at no point out of a contest and, weirdly, are almost always hard to judge based on their midseason performance. This long-doubted Kentucky team are carving through a bracket that was previously seen as unfavorable.
Where does one get a couch to burn in this town? pic.twitter.com/ZD1BzDturg
— KSR (@KSRonX) May 31, 2026
In this game alone, Kentucky went from a six-run lead (spurred by a two-run jack from Braxton VanCleave), to the game being tied, to then leading 8-6 and, eventually, closing out the victory.
It was reliever Jack Bennett, who entered the duel with a 6.19 ERA, who locked down the final 12 outs to bring the Cats over the finish line. Shortstop Tyler Bell scored three times, and was a general highlight in the win alongside the aforementioned masked man, BVC.
DĂ©jĂ Blue
No. 2 and No. 1 (WV was No. 16 in the tournament overall) have both gone down by way of the Cats' scratch. Who's next?
Well, one of West Virginia and Wake Forest will get a chance to redeem themselves, depending on who wins in the loser's side of the bracket. As the Wildcats await their fate, the blue and white certainly seem to have the momentum regardless of that result.
Although, it's hard to beat a good team twice... especially a good team that shared more than a fair bit of trash talk with you in each respective contest. Thus far, Kentucky has both talked the talk and walked the walk.
Cats fans will cheer on another potentially miraculous run as they continue to try and do so.
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