As James McCoy was thrown out for the final out of the top of ninth, it meant that Oregon State was down to the final three outs of its season while Kentucky baseball was three outs away from history.
There were plenty of empty seats in the third base dugout as most of the Wildcats were standing on the bench and others were perched up against the railing. Meanwhile in the stands, everyone was on their feet.
Robert Hogan stood still in his wind up as Brady Kasper stepped into the box and took ball one outside. Hogan then fired an off-speed pitch to the outside corner, this time for a strike.
As the pitch came home, Kasper geared up and fouled off a center-cut pitch and the count swung in Hogan’s favor at 1-2. As the fans were clapping to the rhythm of the sound playing through the speakers, Hogan fired another pitch that Kasper hit on the ground to first baseman Ryan Nicholson, who fielded and flipped the ball to a covering Hogan, who beat Kasper to the bag.
One out.
With the crowd even more fired up, Jabin Trosky stepped into the box for his first at-bat of the game after entering as defensive replacement and he stared at an off-speed pitch from Hogan for strike one.
Hogan took a moment before stepping back on the pitching rubber and fired a pitch that was center cut, allowing Troksy to find the barrel and hit a hot shot down the left field line.
Despite the ball being well hit, it didn’t leave the infield as third baseman Mitchell Daly made a diving stop and he popped up and fired a strike to Nicholson at first. Nicholson, who was awaiting the throw, pumped his fist along with Hogan in the direction of Daly, who let out a, “Come on!”
Play was briefly stopped as Oregon State head coach Mitch Canham challenged the play. The buzz could be felt through the crowd as the replays showed that the play would stand.
As the umpires took off their headsets and returned to the playing field, the umpire confirmed what the fans already knew.
Two down.
After the call was confirmed, one of the staple songs of UK Athletics, “Grove Street Party” by Waka Flocka Flame (featuring Kebo Gotti) belted through the Kentucky Proud Park speakers, which sent the crowd and dugout into a frenzy.
Mason Guerra stepped up as the last hope for the Beavers and took ball one just past his face. The righty Hogan gathered and fired the next pitch into the opposite batters box for ball two.
He repeated this for ball three before firing a strike down the middle to move the count to 3-1. From the windup, Hogan fired a pitch inside for ball four.
With the tying run onboard, one of the best hitters in the country and a shoe-in top-five MLB draft pick, Travis Bazzana, stepped up to the plate with a chance to walk it off and force a game three.
Before a pitch was thrown, Dawson Santana came in to pinch run for Guerra, sending Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione out of the dugout, motioning to the bullpen for a reliever.
As the bullpen gate swung open, out came Ryan Hagenow as Hogan departed to a standing ovation. The sounds of cheers gave way to the song “My Life Your Entertainment” by T.I. (featuring Usher) as the tall right hander fired his warmup tosses.
After a malfunction with his pitching device, Hagenow returned to the mound as Bazzana stepped into the box and did his typical pre-pitch routine.
As the righty came set in the stretch, he fired a change-up that Bazzana looked at for strike one. The next pitch was way outside for ball one to even the count.
The next pitch was center cut and Bazzana crushed it into right field, with the ball one-hopping the fence as Santana flew into third base.
Rounding first, Bazzana made contact with Nicholson, so he remained at first, but Canham immediately popped out of the dugout to discuss the call with the umpires, which prompted another review. As the umpires removed their headsets, they determined the runner would remain at first base.
Following the review, Mingione started making a walk to the mound to remove Hagenow. This time, Johnny Hummel came out of the bullpen and began the trot to the mound.
As Hagenow departed to cheers from the crowd, he was greeted by his teammates as Hummel’s classic, “Oh Yeah,” in Lightning McQueen’s voice from the Pixar film “Cars” sounded with an engine startup preceding Sheryl Crow’s song “Real Gone” while Hummel took his warmup tosses.
As the song faded and Micah McDowell stepped into the batter’s box, Hummel gathered and fired a slider down Broadway.
Strike one.
The righty repeated the same pitch and, this time, McDowell swung and missed.
Strike two.
Hummel stepped on the rubber and, after gathering himself, fired a slider home that catcher Devin Burkes caught and held. The umpire took a step back and pumped both of his fists in a punch-out motion.
Strike three. History made.
The crowd exploded with jubilation as Burkes flexed both of arms into the air and looked into the sky. As gloves and hats flew into the air, Hummel pointed at the mob of teammates coming his way and the celebration was underway.
Hummel was tackled by his teammates, with each one joining in on the dogpile as the outfielders and others quickly jumped on top.
In the dugout, as the final pitch was called for strike three, Mingione removed his hat and bowed to his knees, overcome with emotion before embracing his other coaches and Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart.
On the other side of the field it was heartbreak for the Beavers as they watched the Wildcats hoist the NCAA Super Regional Championship trophy.
As “Grove Street Party” belted through the speakers once again, the Wildcats took a lap around the field to embrace and celebrate with the fans still in attendance.
Upon returning to the third base line, each player was greeted with a hug from coach Mingione and his wife Christen.
After shaking hands with Oregon State, the celebration continued as the players emptied both water coolers over the head of their coach.
As the night came to a close, a few players and Mingione said some parting words to the fans before the storybook night ended with a tip of the cap from the players to the Big Blue Nation.
What began as 9 p.m. Sunday anticipation and nervousness, ended in early Monday morning jubilation as, for the first time in program history, Kentucky baseball punched its ticket to Omaha, Nebraska, for the Men’s College World Series.
Shelly Emrick • Jun 15, 2024 at 7:10 pm
Wonderful article. Go CATS!