GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 4 Kentucky battled valiantly, overcoming significant adversity to rally for a thrilling 12-11, 10-inning victory at Condron Family Ballpark in Friday afternoon’s series opener. The teams return to the field Saturday at noon ET.
The game, which was moved up from a 6:30 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. start, was delayed 92 minutes before first pitch due to storms in the Gainesville area.
Down to its final out in the ninth inning, Nick Lopez and Mitchell Daly calmly drew walks before Ryan Nicholson unloaded on a 2-0 pitch, driving it off the top of the videoboard to give UK (36-10, 19-6 SEC) the lead. Florida tied it in its half of the ninth on three two-out singles before Lopez lined a three-run double into the corner with two out in the 10th. The Gators pulled with one on two solo home runs and had the tying run on first base with one out before Ryan Hagenow induced a double play to end the wild affair.
Nicholson homered twice and drove in five, as Lopez also did to lead the charge. Ryan Waldschmidt and Devin Burkes also each reached base three times in a return to their home state.
UK scored right out of the gate but Florida answered in its half of the first and took a 4-1 lead on a two-out home run by Colby Shelton in the third. After the Gators added a solo home run in the fourth, the Cats battled for a pair in the fifth to cut the deficit to two.
UK looked poised to tighten the gap even more in the seventh after the first two reached but a bizarre double caught stealing short-circuited the threat and allowed the Gators off the hook. Emilien Pitre broke for second on the play but Waldschmidt did not do the same for third, creating a logjam at second. Florida threw out Waldschmidt at third and then nabbed Pitre trying to scramble back to first.
The unusual lack of sharpness showed again in the bottom of the inning as the Cats dropped a two-out pop-up and failed to catch another in foul territory. A wild pitch then chased home a run after the inning should have been over.
The Cats rallied to tie the game at six in the eighth on Eli Small’s pinch hit double, his first hit since February 20, that chased James McCoy home from first. It took Florida two batters in its half of the inning to reclaim the lead after an infield single and double into the corner.
Fight Like Wildcats: No. 4 Kentucky Rallies for Thrilling Victory – UK Athletics​
The game, which was moved up from a 6:30 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. start, was delayed 92 minutes before first pitch due to storms in the Gainesville area.
Down to its final out in the ninth inning, Nick Lopez and Mitchell Daly calmly drew walks before Ryan Nicholson unloaded on a 2-0 pitch, driving it off the top of the videoboard to give UK (36-10, 19-6 SEC) the lead. Florida tied it in its half of the ninth on three two-out singles before Lopez lined a three-run double into the corner with two out in the 10th. The Gators pulled with one on two solo home runs and had the tying run on first base with one out before Ryan Hagenow induced a double play to end the wild affair.
Nicholson homered twice and drove in five, as Lopez also did to lead the charge. Ryan Waldschmidt and Devin Burkes also each reached base three times in a return to their home state.
UK scored right out of the gate but Florida answered in its half of the first and took a 4-1 lead on a two-out home run by Colby Shelton in the third. After the Gators added a solo home run in the fourth, the Cats battled for a pair in the fifth to cut the deficit to two.
UK looked poised to tighten the gap even more in the seventh after the first two reached but a bizarre double caught stealing short-circuited the threat and allowed the Gators off the hook. Emilien Pitre broke for second on the play but Waldschmidt did not do the same for third, creating a logjam at second. Florida threw out Waldschmidt at third and then nabbed Pitre trying to scramble back to first.
The unusual lack of sharpness showed again in the bottom of the inning as the Cats dropped a two-out pop-up and failed to catch another in foul territory. A wild pitch then chased home a run after the inning should have been over.
The Cats rallied to tie the game at six in the eighth on Eli Small’s pinch hit double, his first hit since February 20, that chased James McCoy home from first. It took Florida two batters in its half of the inning to reclaim the lead after an infield single and double into the corner.
Fight Like Wildcats: No. 4 Kentucky Rallies for Thrilling Victory – UK Athletics​
Comment