Nick Mingione shares inspiring note ahead of win-or-go-home matchup vs. Florida in Omaha

The Bat Cats could not create the late-game magic they found in game one of the College World Series, falling to Texas A&M by a final score of 5-1 in game two. Kentucky had its chances after a slow start at the plate, but couldn’t overcome the five-run lead put together by the Aggies in the sixth inning, only adding one run in the bottom of the ninth — a homer by Ryan Nicholson.

“Give their starter credit, (Ryan) Prager, what an outing, what a time to pitch a game like that,” Nick Mingione said after the loss. “Give him a lot of credit. He kept us off balance. It was the fastball, the breaking ball, the change-up. He just threw an absolute great game. Give them a lot of credit. We had some opportunities and did not cash in. As you know, in a game like this, all those opportunities matter. The big inning is just about — maybe the biggest factor in whether you win or lose a game in college baseball. They were able to get one and we weren’t. That was the difference in the game.

“But give them a lot of credit. They had a great offensive approach, especially in the sixth inning, and it was too much for us to overcome.”

The loss sets up a battle vs. Florida on Tuesday, falling into the losers’ bracket. That matchup will take place at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, needing a win to set up a rematch vs. Texas A&M on Wednesday. The good news? The College World Series is all about facing and overcoming adversity, no team in the last five years sweeping their way to a national championship.

 “The last five national champions lost at least one game,” Mingione said. “Sometimes playing every day and back-to-back days you can get your momentum going, you can get in the rhythm and flow. If that’s what it takes, you’ve got to do it.”

What do the Bat Cats expect from the Gators on Tuesday? A hard-nosed team coming off a 5-4 win over NC State, one with very real momentum going into the head-to-head SEC matchup.

“They’ve played great of late. When you just think about what they had to do to even make the postseason, you give them so much credit,” Mingione said. “That last weekend what they did in Georgia, and obviously they’ve been playing really good since. And you know what, they took the hard path here. They were on the road for both the Regional and Super. And this league, you know this, but every week and every — every week it seems like teams can change. And this is a team that we’re facing tomorrow that’s been there, done that. They’re well-coached as you know.

“We’ll definitely have our hands full. But they’re not the same team from when we played them a couple of weeks ago.”

Time for some more magic in Omaha for Mingione and the Bat Cats.