Friday, May 8
Gainesville, Fla.
9:30 PM
Florida Gators
33-17, 14-11
7
vs
6
Kentucky
29-17, 11-14
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
UAA Communications photo by Maddie Washburn
No. 13/21 Florida Walks Off Kentucky to Complete Comeback
Saturday, May 9, 2026 | Baseball
The Gators trailed from the top of the third until the bottom of the eighth before scoring six unanswered runs to win their fourth-straight game.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 13/21 Florida erased a five-run deficit in the eighth inning thanks to a bases-clearing double by Brendan Lawson and Kyle Jones hit a walk-off single in the ninth to deliver a 7-6, comeback victory over Kentucky in the series opener at Condron Family Ballpark on Friday night.
Entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Gators (33-17, 14-11 SEC) trailed the Wildcats (29-17, 11-14 SEC) at 6-1, but rallied for five runs to tie the game heading into the ninth. Lawson (1-for-4) provided the first heroic moment of the night with a two-out, three-run double in the eighth before scoring the tying run on a wild pitch while Jones (1-for-5) found a hole through the left side of the infield with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth for his first-career walk-off hit.
Having trailed from the top of the third until the bottom of the eighth, Florida's five-run comeback is tied for its largest across the last two seasons. Cade Kurland (2-for-4) was also instrumental in the win with two runs scored and his third homer of the season, which opened the scoring for the Gators in the third inning. Although SEC Pitcher of the Year frontrunner Aidan King was charged with a season-high five earned runs, he buckled down to complete at least six frames for his sixth-consecutive start, finishing with 6 1/3 innings pitched and six strikeouts to one walk.
Following a delayed start of three hours due to weather, game one got underway at 9:30 p.m. with King fanning the first two UK batters of night on six pitches. He came within one pitch of an immaculate inning before Luke Lawrence grounded out to first base on a 1-2 pitch to end the frame.
King struck out the leadoff man while working around a two-out hit batter in the second to blank the Wildcats. Kentucky drew first blood in the top of the third to take a 3-0 lead, as Owen Jenkins reached on an infield single to shortstop and scored on an RBI double to left-center field by Scott Campbell Jr. After a two-out walk to Tyler Bell, Lawrence doubled home two more runs with a drive to the left-center field warning track.
Chasing three runs in bottom-three, the Gators got an immediate response from Kurland, who bashed a leadoff homer to left field on a 2-0 offering to cut the UF deficit to 3-1. Lawson (hit-by-pitch) and Blake Cyr (walk) reached with two outs but were left stranded.
Unfortunately for the Gators, Kentucky answered right back in the fourth to regain a three-run edge at 4-1. Jenkins kept the inning alive with a two-out, 0-2 single to left field followed by an RBI double to left-center off the bat of Caeden Cloud. Karson Bowen (one out) and Kurland (two outs) knocked singles in the home half for Florida but were stranded as the Gators reached five runners left on base.
King picked up his fifth strikeout en route to a clean frame in the fifth, then capped the sixth with his sixth strikeout for another one-two-three inning while sitting at just 82 pitches. The Gators again threatened in the bottom half with a pair of two-out baserunners highlighted by a double from Landon Stripling, but again left both Gators on base.
In the top of the seventh, King's night came to a close after surrendering a one-out single to Cloud. The Wildcats promptly struck for two more singles by Campbell and Jayce Tarnish upon his removal, with the latter knock plating Cloud. Two batters later with two outs, Lawrence singled through the left side to extend the UK advantage to 6-1.
Redshirt freshman right-hander Schuyler Sandford blanked the Wildcats in the eighth to hold the score. The following half inning, the Gators pulled a signature season moment out of their hat – scoring five runs on four hits to come storming back and tying the game at 6-6.
In the home half of the eighth, Caden McDonald led off with a double to left, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout to shortstop by Bowen. The Gators sent Lawson to the plate as the tying run with the bases loaded and trailing four runs later in the inning, as Kurland (dropped-third strike), Hayden Yost (single) and Jones (walk) all reached with two outs. On a 1-2 count, Lawson delivered a bases-clearing double down the left-field line to bring Florida within one, advancing to third on an error in left field. A wild pitch to Cyr opened the door for Lawson to scamper home safely as the tying run, creating a brand-new ballgame at 6-6.
Right-hander Joshua Whritenour was called on out of the bullpen in the ninth and logged a zero to send the matchup into the bottom of the ninth, with Florida needing a lone run to send fans home. With one man down, Bowen doubled into the right-center field gap to get a rally going. Kurland and pinch-hitter Jacob Kendall then worked two-out walks to load the bases for Jones. On the second pitch, Jones snuck an 0-1 offering through the five-six hole into left field to plate Bowen for the walk-off winner and complete the five-run comeback.
Whritenour (3-3) earned the victory with one scoreless frame of relief. He did not surrender a hit or walk and struck out one.
Kentucky relief pitcher Ira Austin IV (0-1) was saddled with his first loss of the campaign. He allowed one earned run on one hit in two-thirds of an inning, striking out one.
King received a no-decision, but completed at least six innings for the sixth-straight start. The UF sophomore finished with five earned runs on six hits and one walk in 6 1/3 frames while striking out six.
UK starter Ben Cleaver did not factor into the decision either, pitching four innings of one-run ball on four hits, one walk and three strikeouts.
NOTABLES
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On evaluating King's start and the pitching as a whole…
"I think it was one of those outings where he just gutted it out. We thought that going into this week that we were going to keep his pitch count to 90 and he threw 93. We have extended him the last two starts. But, give credit to Kentucky. They came out extremely aggressive. Three of their first four runs were with two outs. It was good to get Schuyler Sandford back out there. He gave us a valuable inning and two-thirds. And it was good to get Josh Whritenour back out there as well. So, from a pitching standpoint, I thought we were competitive. I thought Aidan threw a bunch of first-pitch strikes. It seemed like he was ahead in the count. He maybe did not locate his two-strike pitches as well as he may have wanted to, but I am just glad the plan worked out the way that we talked about it."
On Lawson's clutch hit in the eighth and the comeback…
"Everyone struggles. Everyone goes through things like that. You just have to stay with it. You never know which hit is going to be the one to get you going. Obviously, the hit he had in the eighth was a huge one for us at that point in the game. I do think we came out a little flat, honestly. Not to take away from anything Kentucky did tonight. I do not think our at bats were very good the first six innings. We had a great crowd tonight. I mean a three-hour rain delay, and a ton of people stayed around. We have to thank them for staying around because that helped us in the latter part of the game. Another thing is that Kyle Jones may not have had his best game offensively at the plate, and he would probably tell you that. The thing about this game is that it can be extremely humbling, extremely difficult. But for some reason, the game always seems to get back to you at the most pivotal points. It's weird how that happens… I think the last time we had a comeback win like this was High Point, so it was a good win for us. Everyone is playing for something during this time of year. So many things are at stake. It seems like all of these games are magnified. So to be able to come back on this one where we were not very good offensively for the first seven innings, should make our locker room feel pretty good about themselves."
On getting a comeback win like this one late in the season…
"Yeah, it's a big win for a lot of reasons. It gets another win in the win column in the league. It helps our RPI. It helps our strength of schedule. I do not know what the magic number is to host, but we are certainly in the discussion. Who knows what happens when we have five games left in the regular season? Every game is important… It always seems like the last two weekends get wrapped up in a bunch. So this was a big win for us."
ON DECK
The Gators and Wildcats battle again in game two, scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Gators (33-17, 14-11 SEC) trailed the Wildcats (29-17, 11-14 SEC) at 6-1, but rallied for five runs to tie the game heading into the ninth. Lawson (1-for-4) provided the first heroic moment of the night with a two-out, three-run double in the eighth before scoring the tying run on a wild pitch while Jones (1-for-5) found a hole through the left side of the infield with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth for his first-career walk-off hit.
Having trailed from the top of the third until the bottom of the eighth, Florida's five-run comeback is tied for its largest across the last two seasons. Cade Kurland (2-for-4) was also instrumental in the win with two runs scored and his third homer of the season, which opened the scoring for the Gators in the third inning. Although SEC Pitcher of the Year frontrunner Aidan King was charged with a season-high five earned runs, he buckled down to complete at least six frames for his sixth-consecutive start, finishing with 6 1/3 innings pitched and six strikeouts to one walk.
Following a delayed start of three hours due to weather, game one got underway at 9:30 p.m. with King fanning the first two UK batters of night on six pitches. He came within one pitch of an immaculate inning before Luke Lawrence grounded out to first base on a 1-2 pitch to end the frame.
King struck out the leadoff man while working around a two-out hit batter in the second to blank the Wildcats. Kentucky drew first blood in the top of the third to take a 3-0 lead, as Owen Jenkins reached on an infield single to shortstop and scored on an RBI double to left-center field by Scott Campbell Jr. After a two-out walk to Tyler Bell, Lawrence doubled home two more runs with a drive to the left-center field warning track.
Chasing three runs in bottom-three, the Gators got an immediate response from Kurland, who bashed a leadoff homer to left field on a 2-0 offering to cut the UF deficit to 3-1. Lawson (hit-by-pitch) and Blake Cyr (walk) reached with two outs but were left stranded.
Unfortunately for the Gators, Kentucky answered right back in the fourth to regain a three-run edge at 4-1. Jenkins kept the inning alive with a two-out, 0-2 single to left field followed by an RBI double to left-center off the bat of Caeden Cloud. Karson Bowen (one out) and Kurland (two outs) knocked singles in the home half for Florida but were stranded as the Gators reached five runners left on base.
King picked up his fifth strikeout en route to a clean frame in the fifth, then capped the sixth with his sixth strikeout for another one-two-three inning while sitting at just 82 pitches. The Gators again threatened in the bottom half with a pair of two-out baserunners highlighted by a double from Landon Stripling, but again left both Gators on base.
In the top of the seventh, King's night came to a close after surrendering a one-out single to Cloud. The Wildcats promptly struck for two more singles by Campbell and Jayce Tarnish upon his removal, with the latter knock plating Cloud. Two batters later with two outs, Lawrence singled through the left side to extend the UK advantage to 6-1.
Redshirt freshman right-hander Schuyler Sandford blanked the Wildcats in the eighth to hold the score. The following half inning, the Gators pulled a signature season moment out of their hat – scoring five runs on four hits to come storming back and tying the game at 6-6.
In the home half of the eighth, Caden McDonald led off with a double to left, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout to shortstop by Bowen. The Gators sent Lawson to the plate as the tying run with the bases loaded and trailing four runs later in the inning, as Kurland (dropped-third strike), Hayden Yost (single) and Jones (walk) all reached with two outs. On a 1-2 count, Lawson delivered a bases-clearing double down the left-field line to bring Florida within one, advancing to third on an error in left field. A wild pitch to Cyr opened the door for Lawson to scamper home safely as the tying run, creating a brand-new ballgame at 6-6.
Right-hander Joshua Whritenour was called on out of the bullpen in the ninth and logged a zero to send the matchup into the bottom of the ninth, with Florida needing a lone run to send fans home. With one man down, Bowen doubled into the right-center field gap to get a rally going. Kurland and pinch-hitter Jacob Kendall then worked two-out walks to load the bases for Jones. On the second pitch, Jones snuck an 0-1 offering through the five-six hole into left field to plate Bowen for the walk-off winner and complete the five-run comeback.
Whritenour (3-3) earned the victory with one scoreless frame of relief. He did not surrender a hit or walk and struck out one.
Kentucky relief pitcher Ira Austin IV (0-1) was saddled with his first loss of the campaign. He allowed one earned run on one hit in two-thirds of an inning, striking out one.
King received a no-decision, but completed at least six innings for the sixth-straight start. The UF sophomore finished with five earned runs on six hits and one walk in 6 1/3 frames while striking out six.
UK starter Ben Cleaver did not factor into the decision either, pitching four innings of one-run ball on four hits, one walk and three strikeouts.
NOTABLES
- Florida improved to 2-11 when trailing after seven innings by erasing a five-run deficit heading into the bottom of the eighth.
- The Gators' five-run comeback is tied for their largest across the last two seasons, most recently doing so on March 8, 2026 against High Point.
- Florida last overcame a five-run deficit in an SEC game on May 15, 2025 vs. Alabama.
- Florida produced its 13th come-from-behind victory including its third walk-off win of the season.
- During Florida's four-game win streak, it has outscored opponents by a 41-14 margin.
- The Gators have won 10 of its last 14 SEC series dating back to last season, going 28-15 across 43 SEC contests in that span.
- Florida is a now 19-11 against unranked teams this season on top of being a nation-best 14-6 against ranked opponents and repping the most Quad 1 wins in the country (15).
- King saw his streak of five-straight quality starts come to an end, but he still completed at least six innings (6 1/3 IP) for the sixth-consecutive start.
- In his last six starts, King has pitched a combined 42.0 frames for an average of 7.0 innings per start.
- Across his last 18 starts dating back to last season, King is 11-3 with a 1.68 ERA and 105-to-26 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 112 2/3 innings pitched (21 earned runs allowed).
- Kurland connected for his third home run of the season in the third inning.
- Lawson's bases-clearing double with two outs and two strikes in the ninth snapped an 0-for-19 stretch at the plate.
- Jones won the game in the bottom of the ninth with his first-career walk-off hit.
- Cyr reached base safely for the 14th-consecutive game while registering his 18th multi-hit effort to tie Jones for the team lead.
- Florida has won 50 of its last 72 regular-season games dating back to last season.
- The Gators are now 151-74-1 all-time and 81-32 in Gainesville against Kentucky.
- Florida is 30-23 overall and 14-11 at home vs. the Wildcats under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan.
- The Gators have won 16 of the last 22 matchups against Kentucky.
- Friday night's official attendance was 5,937.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On evaluating King's start and the pitching as a whole…
"I think it was one of those outings where he just gutted it out. We thought that going into this week that we were going to keep his pitch count to 90 and he threw 93. We have extended him the last two starts. But, give credit to Kentucky. They came out extremely aggressive. Three of their first four runs were with two outs. It was good to get Schuyler Sandford back out there. He gave us a valuable inning and two-thirds. And it was good to get Josh Whritenour back out there as well. So, from a pitching standpoint, I thought we were competitive. I thought Aidan threw a bunch of first-pitch strikes. It seemed like he was ahead in the count. He maybe did not locate his two-strike pitches as well as he may have wanted to, but I am just glad the plan worked out the way that we talked about it."
On Lawson's clutch hit in the eighth and the comeback…
"Everyone struggles. Everyone goes through things like that. You just have to stay with it. You never know which hit is going to be the one to get you going. Obviously, the hit he had in the eighth was a huge one for us at that point in the game. I do think we came out a little flat, honestly. Not to take away from anything Kentucky did tonight. I do not think our at bats were very good the first six innings. We had a great crowd tonight. I mean a three-hour rain delay, and a ton of people stayed around. We have to thank them for staying around because that helped us in the latter part of the game. Another thing is that Kyle Jones may not have had his best game offensively at the plate, and he would probably tell you that. The thing about this game is that it can be extremely humbling, extremely difficult. But for some reason, the game always seems to get back to you at the most pivotal points. It's weird how that happens… I think the last time we had a comeback win like this was High Point, so it was a good win for us. Everyone is playing for something during this time of year. So many things are at stake. It seems like all of these games are magnified. So to be able to come back on this one where we were not very good offensively for the first seven innings, should make our locker room feel pretty good about themselves."
On getting a comeback win like this one late in the season…
"Yeah, it's a big win for a lot of reasons. It gets another win in the win column in the league. It helps our RPI. It helps our strength of schedule. I do not know what the magic number is to host, but we are certainly in the discussion. Who knows what happens when we have five games left in the regular season? Every game is important… It always seems like the last two weekends get wrapped up in a bunch. So this was a big win for us."
ON DECK
The Gators and Wildcats battle again in game two, scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Whritenour, Joshua (3-3)
L: Ira Austin IV (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Luke Lawrence 1 ; Caeden Cloud 1 ; Scott Campbell Jr. 1
RBI: Jayce Tharnish 1 ; Luke Lawrence 3 ; Caeden Cloud 1 ; Scott Campbell Jr. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tyler Bell 1 ; Owen Jenkins 2 ; Caeden Cloud 1 ; Scott Campbell Jr. 2
SB: Scott Campbell Jr. 1
CS: Hudson Brown 1
HBP: Tyler Bell 1 ; Hudson Brown 1
Batting:
2B: Lawson, Brendan 1 ; Cyr, Blake 1 ; McDonald, Caden 1 ; Bowen, Karson 1 ; Stripling, Landon 1
HR: Kurland, Cade 1
RBI: Jones, Kyle 1 ; Lawson, Brendan 2 ; Bowen, Karson 1 ; Kurland, Cade 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Kyle 1 ; Lawson, Brendan 1 ; McDonald, Caden 1 ; Bowen, Karson 1 ; Kurland, Cade 2 ; Yost, Hayden 1
HBP: Lawson, Brendan 1
Game Leaders
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