Kentucky is one win away from making some history with the program’s first-ever trip to Omaha and the College World Series after a 10-0 beat down of Oregon State on Saturday evening. But the Wildcats don’t want to get ahead of themselves.
At least that was the message from Ryan Nicholson as he spoke to the ESPN broadcast crew after the game. With a 1-0 lead in the Lexington Super Regional, Nicholson and Co. know they can’t afford to rest on their laurels against an Oregon State team that is likely to come back on Sunday with a vengeance.
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“Just another game at home,” Nicholson said. “It was pretty quick after BB caught that ball out in shallow right, just like, ‘Hey, we’ve got another one tomorrow.’ One’s not two this weekend, so we need to come back, same attitude and just get out there early and get going here tomorrow because we’ve got another one and Oregon State’s going to be really hungry.””
Nicholson himself was key to efforts on Saturday, powering home three RBI, including a two-run home run during a lopsided 7th inning when the Wildcats blew the game open.
Nicholson explained he was expecting a slider in the at bat after swinging and missing on one, and didn’t miss when he had a chance on one.
“I was probably trying to go bridge there on that first swing. But I thought I would get a bunch, another slider in the at bat after the swing that I took on that pitch and I was like ‘I just need to wait back, let the ball come to me.’ And basically just turned behind it and the ball left the yard,” Nicholson said.
And on the mound, the Wildcats had a strong showing from starter Trey Pooser, who tossed seven scoreless innings and gave up just one hit.
Nicholson raved about him after the game.
“I’ve been saying this: He’s one of the best pitchers in the SEC and nobody knows about the guy,” Nicholson said. “He’s as cool as the other side of the pillow and he goes up there and throws and he gets outs, man. I don’t know how to explain it, the guy is just nails up there.”
And no matter what, Kentucky will be coming back for a Game 2 in front of a home crowd, a group that Nicholson gave plenty of credit for helping the squad on Saturday.
Plus, having a packed crowd of raucous fans makes for a fun environment.
“It was very fun. Ask all the people that came out today, I bet they had a great time,” Nicholson said. “But yeah, overall we played a solid game. I think early on we were trying to get those runs in early and it just wasn’t happening but yeah, I mean it was pretty fun. Pretty fun towards the end.”
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