Kentucky Baseball players, Coach Nick Mingione head to Omaha with more hardware

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – A few Bat ‘Cats and head coach Nick Mingione are heading to Omaha with some new hardware.

Kentucky junior and left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt, transfer DH Nick Lopez, and Mingione earned awards of their own following Super Regionals.

Mingione was named Coach of the Year by Perfect Game on Wednesday, June 12, in their postseason awards. The honor marks the second time that the spirited head coach has won the award.

The first time came after the former Embry-Riddle University player, had a stellar first season with the Wildcats in 2017.

This season Mingione has managed to lead Kentucky to a record-breaking run that is not over yet. The ‘Cats have a record of 45-14 and are headed to Omaha for the first time in program history.

Waldschmidt and his hard-hitting played a huge role in getting Kentucky to where they are now. The left fielder was named to Perfect Game’s Third Team All-American Hitters list.

After transferring to Kentucky from Charleston Southern after his freshman year, Waldschmidt has grown into the lead-off slot for the ‘Cats as a junior. He has a batting average of .346 and an on base percentage of .473 on the season.

Former University of Southern California and current Kentucky graduate DH Nick Lopez has also landed a postseason award from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Lopez has been named to the NCBWA All-America second team. The switch-hitter also played a large part in Kentucky’s success this season.

The mustache-dying DH not only fires his team up with his blue and white ‘stache, but he also averages .350 from the plate. Lopez has knocked 22 doubles so far off the bat this season, which ties him at 24th most in the country.

The Wildcats left for Omaha, early Wednesday afternoon after receiving a farewell send-off from Big Blue Nation at Kentucky Proud Park.

The team’s first College World Series game will be on Saturday, June 15, at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) against the NC State Wolfpack.