Gator Baseball Loses In Extras To Kentucky

The Florida Gator baseball team fell to Kentucky on Easter Sunday 5-4 to lose their first series of the season. Florida falls to 23-3 and to 4-2 in the SEC on the season, while Kentucky improves to 17-6, 4-2 in the league. The Gators have now dropped two straight after winning 17 in a row.

Florida got out to an early 3-0 lead in the second inning. Nelson Maldonado extended his hitting streak to five games with an RBI double. Jonathan India drove in a run with a ground out and Dalton Guthrie drove one home with a single.

Kentucky closed the gap to one when they plated two runs in the sixth. Gator starter Alex Faedo kept the Wildcats at bay for most of the game pitching a solid 5.2 innings. Faldo gave up five hits, two runs, and struck out eight batters on the day.

The Wildcats tied things up in the next inning on a wild pitch from Florida reliever Shaun Anderson. Both teams would fail to score in the next couple innings to move things into extras.

JJ Schwarz gave the Gators the lead in the 10th inning with an RBI single. Kentucky answered back though and scored two runs in the bottom half of the frame to take the win.

With one out, shortstop Riley Mahan, who had earlier committed two costly errors that led to the Gator run in the top of the 10th inning, hit a game tying solo home run off of reliever Dane Dunning.  After a hit batter and a walk to lead off hitter Storm Wilson, Brady Singer relieved Dunning and gave up an infield single to Evan White.   Then, with an 0-2 count on JaVon Shelby, Singer uncorked a wild pitch, allowing the winning run to score.

Florida goes on the road Tuesday in Jacksonville to face Florida State.   The Gators won against the Seminoles the first time the teams played this season in Gainesville.   You can hear the game live starting at 5:55 p.m.