Nick Mingione credits Kentucky for competing throughout CWS loss to Texas A&M

In the sixth inning of Kentucky’s showdown against Texas A&M in the College World Series, the Aggies held a 5-0 lead. The ‘Cats easily could have mailed it in for the final three innings of the game.

Instead, they fought tooth and nail, hopeful to claw their way back to a victory. While Kentucky did not succeed—ultimately falling 5-1—head coach Nick Mingione couldn’t be prouder of his team’s relentless effort.

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“We didn’t stop competing,” Mingione said. “We had opportunities. In a game like today, that’s what it was going to take. It was going to take our guys just continuing to fight, and we didn’t cash in. We had some chances, didn’t cash in.”

“I love my team. They’re amazing. We talk about the student, the person, the player, they’ve crushed everything. They had a 3.2 GPA this spring, the way they treat the kids, had so many people in the hotel come up to me about what kind of character our guys have.”

Kentucky never found a rhythm against the Aggies, finishing the game with only four hits. Kentucky graduate student Ryan Nicholson scored the team’s lone run with a solo shot to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning.

In the loss, the Wildcats recorded a .125 batting average and left seven total runners stranded on base. Despite Kentucky’s subpar performance against Texas A&M, its season is far from over. On Tuesday, the ‘Cats will face off in an elimination game against Florida at 7 p.m. ET.

Nick Mingione isn’t ready for this ride of a lifetime to come to an end.

“The margin of victory is so small. It always has been. But you’re right, I’m just so thankful, and I had a thought today that I hadn’t had all year,” Mingione said. “If we win the national championship, how many more days do I have with these guys? Like, I literally thought about that.

“It made me sad. Like, I was like, man, I was, all right, stop, for two seconds. I got back to being thankful that I get to continue to be around these guys because they’re amazing. Amazing people. Amazing guys that are super competitive. They love each other and have fun and they do generally anything they can to help Kentucky win. That’s their goal. They’re not worried about anything else.”