Kentucky and Texas A&M meet for first time this season in MCWS

DanielHagerKSR

Kentucky-TexasAM-meet-for-first-time-season-MCWS — Photos via UK and TAMU Athletics

Kentucky and Texas A&M will meet for the first time this season in Monday night’s winners bracket game on Night Four of the 2024 Men’s College World Series.

The Cats walked off NC State 5-4 on Saturday to win their first ever game in the event, while the Aggies held off Florida 3-2 Saturday night to earn their first MCWS win since 2022.

These teams last clashed in 2023, where the Aggies won the series 2-1 in College Station. A&M owns the all-time series 13-8.

The winner of Monday night’s game will be 2-0 and in the driver’s seat for a spot in the MCWS Finals. Tennessee is 2-0 on the other side of the bracket, looking to clinch just its second ever spot in the Finals (1951).

First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT/7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Texas A&M (50-13, 19-11)

Texas A&M, just like Kentucky, is currently 6-0 in the NCAA Tournament and has yet to lose a game.

The Aggies are however down one of their best players in outfielder Braden Montgomery. Montgomery, who hit for a .322 BA with 27 home runs and 85 RBI, suffered a season-ending lower leg injury during the first inning of the final game of their Super Regional matchup.

The talent still runs strong through the A&M offense, which is led by DH Hayden Schott (.331 BA, 8 HR, 59 RBI), catcher Jackson Appel (.326 BA, 10 HR, 40 RBI), and outfielder Jace LaViolette (.311 BA, 28 HR, 77 RBI). LaViolette, whose 28 home runs are tied for sixth most in the country, made the game-saving home run robbery in the ninth inning of their MCWS opener against Florida.

Outfielder Caden Sorrell totaled two of A&M’s six total hits on Saturday, including a double and an RBI.

Texas A&M will start right-hander Ryan Prager, who was one of the best starting pitchers in the SEC this season. In 87 innings pitched in 2024, Prager boasts an 8-1 record with a 3.10 ERA and 114 strikeouts. He enters Monday night in the midst of a rough patch though, as Oregon tagged him for seven hits and six earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings in their second Super Regional game.

Prager has allowed nine earned runs in his last 10 1/3 innings pitched, good for an 8.02 ERA.

Left-hander Evan Aschenbeck, who pitched three innings of relief in A&M’s first MCWS game against Florida, will be unavailable to pitch on Monday. Aschenbeck is heralded as one of the best relief pitchers in the entire sport.

Kentucky (46-14, 22-8)

Kentucky won its 46th game of the season on Saturday, setting the record for most wins in a season in program history. The previous record was 45 in 2012.

Third baseman Mitchell Daly and Ryan Nicholson etched their names into Kentucky sports history with their clutch ninth and 10th inning home runs against NC State. Daly’s walk-off home run was Kentucky’s first since March 4, 2020 against Murray State, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Although the Cats fell behind 4-3 in the ninth inning of their comeback win, they never once believed that the game wasn’t theirs to win. This is a mentality Nick Mingione and his team has had all season, which has fueled their dream season.

“[Coach Ammirati] brought us together and he said, this is what we play for,” Mitch Daly said postgame. “Let’s have some fun. Let’s do this. The whole message through the entire day, from Coach Minge and the rest of the coaching staff was don’t try to do more. Just keep being us. And like Ryan [Nicholson] said, we have so much confidence in each other. And when he hit that home run, nobody was surprised.”

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Nolan McCarthy has blossomed into a postseason hero for the Wildcats as well. He followed up his game-winning run in the second game of the Super Regional with a two-run home run in the fourth inning of Saturday’s win. Ryan Waldschmidt (5-24) and Nick Lopez (5-27) meanwhile are still trying to shake out their NCAA Tournament jitters.

Right-hander Mason Moore will take the mound for Kentucky Monday night. In a big game situation, there may not be anyone else you’d rather have with the ball in their hands. Although Moore’s scoreless NCAA Tournament innings streak was snapped in the second Super Regional game against Oregon State, he still has video game numbers in the event.

In five career NCAA Tournament appearances, Moore has allowed just 10 hits and one earned run with 22 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings pitched (0.39 ERA). They don’t call him “Big Game MaMo” for no reason.

No Wildcat reliever threw more than 30 pitches on Saturday, so all relievers should be a go on Monday.

For the past two weeks, every single win Kentucky has earned has been the biggest in program history. A win over the Aggies Monday night would once again set that benchmark to be the biggest ever. It’s hard to understate how big posting a 2-0 record in the College World Series is, so doing so would be massive for the Cats for their title aspirations.

Home teams, which Kentucky will be Monday night, are 6-0 through the first six games of the College World Series.

Follow KSR at the College World Series

KSR the show may not be headed to Omaha this weekend, but the website will be well-represented. KSR baseball beat writer Daniel Hager and videographer Steven Peake hit the road on Friday to capture all the action and excitement for Kentucky’s first College World Series appearance. They’ll be sharing all of their adventures on the site, social media, and special editions of “Bat Cat Beat” and Rapid Reactions on the KSR YouTube Channel, so make sure you’re following and subscribed to keep up with the Cats.

KSR’s trip to Omaha for the College World Series is presented by Summit Insurance Group, a veteran owned, family operated business. We want to introduce you to Steve Terrell, who is here to help and give you a tip.
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