Kentucky evens series at Florida behind Jaxon Jelkin complete game
By David Wasson
Published:
The Kentucky baseball team earned a key SEC victory against No. 13 Florida on Saturday, downing the Gators 4-2 on the strength of Jaxon Jelkin’s 128-pitch, complete-game performance at Condron Ballpark in Gainesville.
Kentucky (30-17 overall, 12-14 SEC) can win the series by claiming Sunday’s finale (10 am ET, SEC Network). Florida (33-18, 14-12) saw its four-game winning streak snapped.
Jelkin had to wait over four hours to begin his start Saturday after severe weather delayed first pitch to 8:15 pm ET. But once Jelkin was on the mound, he was tough to crack. He struck out 12 Gators to improve to 8-2, scattered seven hits across the nine innings and delivered 82 strikes in his 128 pitches.
Kentucky staked their starter to an early lead, as Luke Lawrence singled home two runs in the first for a 1-0 lead. A fielder’s choice in the fourth made it 3-0 and Caeden Cloud’s solo homer in the fifth made it 4-0.
Florida finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh via Brendan Lawson’s solo homer and cut it to 4-2 in the ninth on a Landon Stripling sacrifice fly.
Lawrence and Tyler Bell each had two hits for Kentucky. Lawson and Hayden Yost each went 2-for-4 for Florida. Liam Peterson (1-5) took the loss.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
