Kentucky's ability to stay in the moment paved the way to the Wildcats' first win ever at the College World Series.

After seeing NC State erase leads of 1-0 and 3-1 and eventually grab what could have been a demoralizing 4-3 advantage in the ninth inning, Kentucky got a pair of late home runs to author another cliffhanger chapter in its storybook season.

Ryan Nicholson smashed an opposite-field home run to left in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings, and Mitchell Daly clubbed a two-out homer into the left-field bullpen in the 10th inning to give the Wildcats a thrilling 5-4 walk-off win over the Wolfpack at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.

It marked the seventh -- and by far the most impactful -- home run of the season for Daly, who ambushed NC State closer Derrick Smith's 1-2 pitch to spark a wild celebration at home plate for the blue-clad winners.

"I was just trying to see the slider up (in the zone)," said the grad senior third baseman who transferred to UK this season after starting his college career at Texas, where he made it to the CWS twice with the Longhorns. "(Kentucky assistant coach Austin Cousino) said he leaves it up sometimes, and I saw it up, so I swung hard."

The blast sends 2-seed Kentucky (46-14) to play the winner of today's second game -- unseeded Florida versus 3-seed Texas A&M -- on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

NC State (38-22) drops to the elimination bracket where it will face the loser of the matchup between the Gators and Aggies.

It was another opportunity for the Cats to display their trademark resiliency. The bottom of the ninth inning marked the first time in the NCAA Tournament that UK has found itself trailing on the scoreboard. Nicholson quickly changed the mood with his team-leading 22nd long ball of the season.

"What a response," Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said. "What a response, right? I mean, when I tell you guys, in the ninth, this team has true belief. They really thought we were going to win the game."

It took an extra inning, but that faith remained strong.

The UK boss relayed a story he has shared with the team regarding former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser, who set an MLB record with 59 consecutive scoreless innings during the 1988 season. When Hershiser was asked how he could accomplish such a feat, he told reporters it was simply a matter of focusing on the execution, not the results.

One pitch at a time, one inning at a time, one game at a time.

"This team has an unbelievable ability to just move on to the next thing, good or bad," Mingione said. "And when you do that, you're able to move on quicker and do things like today... One of the things that this team just does well is they support each other, and they just move on. They just move on, and it's crucial to our success."

"We're not worried about what happened in the past," confirmed UK starter Trey Pooser, who was tossing a gem before giving up a game-tying home run to NC State's Alec Makarewicz with two outs in the top of the seventh. "Just focus on the present and do whatever we can to win."

Pooser allowed three runs on nine hits and two walks before giving way to the UK bullpen in the seventh. Cameron O'Brien, Jackson Nove, Robert Hogan, and Johnny Hummel took it the rest of the way.

Hummel (4-0) was yet another example of UK's ability to overcome tough moments. He surrendered the go-ahead run in the ninth by uncorking a wild pitch as soon as he entered the game. But the grad senior right-hander bounced back to retire five of the six batters he faced, including three straight in the 10th, two via strikeouts.

In addition to the two late blasts, Kentucky also got a third home run, a two-run shot from Nolan McCarthy to take a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning. Nick Lopez's RBI single in the first inning accounted for the Cats' other run.