Kentucky's bullpen should be close to 100 percent in Game 2 of the College World Series

Kentucky baseball advances in Omaha

You play to win the game. Nothing else matters. That's what Pete Rose told Nolan McCarthy, and that's what Herm Edwards tried to tell us all. But winning the College World Series is a marathon, not a sprint.

Every time you win an extra inning game in the college baseball playoffs, your mind immediately turns to the status of the bullpen after the victory. Despite needing 10 innings from pitching coach Dan Roszel's staff to beat NC State, Kentucky will face the winner of Florida/Texas A&M on Monday night very close to full strength.

We saw the Wildcats throw four arms out of the bullpen Saturday at Charles Schwab Field. Only one exceeded 20 throws.

• Cameron O'Brien: 1.0 innings (16 pitches)
• Jackson Nove: 0.1 innings (9 pitches)
• Robert Hogan: 0.1 innings (12 pitches)
• Johnny Hummel: 1.2 innings (30 innings)

The bullpen allowed just one run in 3.1 innings of work, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts and four walks. The only race took place on wild terrain. After hard work at the super-regional level, Kentucky's relief pitchers once again delivered on their promise on college baseball's biggest stage.

“I thought Dan Roszel called a good match. I thought Cam O’Brien came in and made a good play on a bunt,” Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said of his pitching staff. “He did his job as a firefighter.”

“Jackson Nove got us a few, allowed us to get a big out against a good hitter. We went left and left. And then Johnny was phenomenal.

Everyone except Hummel should be 100% full Monday. Kentucky will also have a full-strength Ryan Hagenow. Kentucky had to go the extra mile to knock off NC State, but they'll still have high-quality weapons thanks to the 6.2 innings eaten by starter Trey Pooser and the committee approach in the final innings we saw by Mingione and Roszel.

Follow KSR at the College World Series

KSR, the show may not make it to Omaha this weekend, but the website will be well represented. KSR baseball writer Daniel Hager and videographer Steven Peake hit the road Friday to capture all the action and excitement of Kentucky's first College World Series appearance. They will share all their adventures on the site, social networks and special editions of “Bat Cat Beat» and Rapid Reactions on the KSR YouTube channel, so be sure to follow and subscribe to keep up with Cats news.