LEXINGTON, Ky. -- When the Kentucky Wildcats embarked on one of the best seasons in program history, Trey Pooser's role on the pitching staff was something of a mystery.
The Cats were high on the grad senior's potential after transferring from the College of Charleston but not many college baseball observers envisioned the right-hander as Kentucky's ace, especially when flanked by preseason All-American nominees like Mason Moore and Dominic Niman, as well as highly regarded MLB prospect Travis Smith.
Pooser has now staked his claim to that honor after pitching Kentucky into the championship bracket of the NCAA Lexington Regional, tossing seven dominant innings on Saturday in a 6-1 win over Illinois.
Pooser (6-1) allowed only one run on five hits and two walks while striking out seven on a rainy afternoon at Kentucky Proud Park. He lowered his team-best ERA to 3.56 on the season, and it was his 11th appearance allowing two or fewer runs.
Asked if it was time to label Pooser as his ace, Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione concurred, adding: "I'll let you guys decide what title or label you want to put on him... I know he won't argue with you if you call him our ace."
It was undeniably an ace-caliber performance.
"Made it very difficult for us," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "... (Pooser) throws some quality pitches, made some things look like strikes that did end up out of the zone. He just competed very, very well, and when he got in a jam, he found a way to get out each and every time. It was impressive."
It marked only the second time in 55 games this season that Illinois was held without an extra-base hit.
"He was just commanding all three of his pitches and throwing them all for a strike, getting ahead, and putting them in good spots a lot," said Illini catcher Jacob Schroeder, who entered the game as one of five players in the lineup with 10 or more home runs on the season. "Wasn't a lot of really good pitches to hit all day."
Said Pooser: "Just filling up the zone. I was trying to get ahead as much as possible, and fastball/changeup combo was working really well today. Didn't really have a feel for my curveball as much, but the fastball/changeup really played today."
It was a stress-free day for the UK pitching staff. The Cats needed only two arms as Ryan Hagenow worked the final two innings in scoreless fashion to earn his third save of the season.
Offensively, Kentucky (42-14) leaned on a pair of two-run home runs, one by Ryan Nicholson in the second inning to take an early lead and another by Ryan Waldschmidt in the ninth to provide some insurance runs.
Waldschmidt went 3-for-5 with a double to go along with his homer and three RBI. Nicholson slugged his team-leading 19th long ball, tying Kole Cottam for the most in the Mingione era at UK.
Payton Hutchings (4-3) started and took the loss for Illinois, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings on the mound.
The Illini (35-20) will face Indiana State on Sunday at Noon ET in an elimination game rematch of their regional opener. Illinois won that matchup 4-1 on Friday. The Sycamores staved off elimination in Saturday's first game, knocking out Western Michigan 6-4.
Kentucky, the No. 2 overall national seed, will play the winner of that game on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET in the championship bracket. If the Wildcats win, they will play host to a Super Regional next week for the first time in program history. If they lose, they will play a rematch on Monday at a time yet to be determined.
