How Kentucky's 'Get Weird' mentality got the Wildcats to the MCWS - ESPN

OMAHA, Nebraska — The Kentucky baseball's team flight to Omaha was delayed last week, which gave the Wildcats more time to ponder an issue of great gravity.

Should they pack the cowboy hat or a stuffed animal?

The hat was a prop for the «Cowboy Up» ritual the Wildcats practiced when their hitters were facing two strikes, but they weren't sure how effective it was at super regionals, so they debated whether to ditch it. Ryan Hagenow, a relief pitcher for Kentucky, has final say on these matters because as the dugout captain, he is the arbiter of a vital initiative: «Get Weird.»

It was implemented by Wildcats skipper Nick Mingione after Kentucky scuffled in a home series loss to Kennesaw State in March. Mingione said his players were putting too much pressure on themselves. He wanted them to play with more energy, loosen up and have fun.

The Wildcats rattled off a six-game winning streak after that team meeting, won a school-record 46 games and landed in the program's first Men's College World Series.

Saturday was peak weirdness.

In the middle of their opening MCWS game, a tie score with No. 10 North Carolina State, pitcher Mason Moore was in the dugout wearing a fireman's hat and playing with a hand puppet. The game went into extra innings. Two Kentucky ballplayers stacked more than a dozen rally caps on top of outfielder Nolan McCarthy's head. A few minutes later, Kentucky eked out a 5-4, 10th-inning win.

Coincidence? Probably. But don't tell that to the Wildcats, who are having the season — and the time — of their lives.

«I know it's not traditional or whatever,» Hagenow said. «But at the same time, we're not a Major League Baseball team. We're college kids, and the reality of it is that most of us won't play baseball