The Kentucky Wildcats barely secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament as one of the final four teams selected, which sparked criticism from many who felt they didn’t deserve to be there.
On Friday, the 3-seeded Wildcats quieted some of their doubters by edging out 2-seeded Wake Forest 6–5 in an exciting opener at the Morgantown Regional.
The Bat Cats fell into an early 3–0 hole but stormed back with five unanswered runs across the fifth and sixth innings to go up 5–3.
The Demon Deacons answered with solo homers in the sixth and eighth to tie the game at 5–5.
That’s when junior outfielder Jayce Tharnish came to the rescue. After leading off the ninth with a single, he swiped second and third, then dashed home on a wild pitch to give Kentucky a 6–5 lead. Jackson Soucie shut the door in the bottom of the ninth, sending the Cats to the regional’s winner’s bracket.
Next up, Kentucky will take on the winner of Saturday’s game between 1-seed West Virginia and 4-seed Birmingham, with first pitch set for 5 PM ET.
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