Kentucky Wins First Regional Title In Program History

A historic win is worthy of a great celebration. Check out our special look from tonight's win from @UKBaseball.👇https://t.co/ZX6I9lHihQ

— KYwildcatsTV (@KYwildcatsTV) June 6, 2017

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Sean Hjelle stood just off the mound at Cliff Hagan Stadium and watched as a sea of blue rushed toward him. The righthander had just struck out the side in the ninth inning to finish off Kentucky’s 10-5 victory against North Carolina State in the Lexington Regional final, giving the Wildcats the first regional title in program history.

Hjelle, listed at 6-foot-11, 215 pounds, was soon engulfed by his teammates and was buried at the bottom of the dogpile.

“I’ll never forget the image in my head of looking at the dugout and seeing all those guys rush at me,” Hjelle said. “The feeling of being crushed right there was so worth it. Just having that image and that memory in my head was just so cool.”

Kentucky’s victory sends it to super regionals, where it will make the short trip west to Louisville. The Cardinals, the No. 7 national seed, advanced to super regionals Sunday with a victory against Xavier.

While a massive rivalry series awaits in the next round, Monday’s game is one anyone associated with Kentucky’s program won’t soon forget.

Since Nick Mingione was hired to be Kentucky’s head coach last June, 357 days ago, he has talked about doing things that have never been done before in program history. Monday was the biggest first yet.

“They have just done something that has never been done in the history of the baseball program and we’ve been playing baseball over 100 years here,” Mingione said. “This makes them believe that they can do things that have never been done before—and that’s really powerful.”

Kentucky had been to the NCAA Tournament eight times before this year. It had never advanced beyond regionals and had lost in the regional final in its last four tournament appearances.

The Wildcats had missed the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons. Gary Henderson resigned following last season, leading to Mingione being hired away from his role as recruiting coordinator at Mississippi State.

Senior closer Logan Salow said winning a regional following last season’s disappointment meant a lot.

“We’re in a place to do everything that we wanted to do and I couldn’t thank the coaching staff enough and the guys that have bought in since day one,” he said.

While Mingione has already taken the program to new heights, he is keenly aware of the foundation that had been laid before he arrived. He was on John Cohen’s staff in 2006, when the Wildcats won their lone Southeastern Conference championship. Also on that staff was Henderson, who succeeded Cohen as head coach at Kentucky, and Brad Bohannon, who was responsible for recruiting much of this year’s team during his time as the Wildcats’ recruiting coordinator.

Mingione credited Henderson and his staff for the talented roster he inherited. And he said the decade he spent working under Cohen, first at Kentucky and then at Mississippi State, prepared him for this season’s success.

“There’s no question that I’m not here, a part of this championship without John Cohen,” Mingione said. “You don’t spend over a decade with somebody and not learn. He has taught me how everything matters, everything. And it’s a direct reflection of our baseball program, which ultimately falls on me.”

The Wildcats had to battle through the losers’ bracket to get to Monday. Kentucky began the weekend with a victory against Ohio, but lost its second game to North Carolina State. It bounced back Sunday to beat Indiana in an elimination game and then knock off NC State to setup a winner-take-all game Monday.

The Wildcats and Wolfpack played a back-and-forth game until the seventh, when Kentucky scored three times to take a 7-5 lead. They added three insurance runs in the ninth inning, before Hjelle finished off his perfect 3.1 inning outing by striking out the side to set off a raucous celebration.

Kentucky shared its victory with a record crowd of 5,005 fans, which included John Calipari, the school’s star basketball coach, who cut his vacation short to return to campus for the game. Most of the crowd was still in its seats when the game ended around 1 a.m., even after a 140-minute rain delay before the first pitch.

After the win, Mingione was given a microphone and addressed the crowd. He said he couldn’t miss an opportunity to thank the fans for their support.

“It showed how much people really, really love UK baseball and how much our young men mean to them,” Mingione said.