Kentucky concludes best regular season since 2017
Wildcats 36 regular season wins their most since 2017
LEXINGTON, Ky. – (UK Athletics) – No. 3 Florida broke free of a pitching duel in the seventh inning to score a 5-2 series-clinching victory over No. 20 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at Kentucky Proud Park.
Junior Austin Strickland was nearly perfect through six one-hit innings before the Gators were able to scratch across four runs in the seventh.
Kentucky finished its best regular season since 2017 at 36-17 overall and 16-14 in the Southeastern Conference.
Shortstop Grant Smith lined a home run off the right field pole for his fifth straight SEC game with a home run. AJ Reed was the last UK player to accomplish the feat.
NOTES
- UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his seventh season at the helm and now owns a 212-146 career record.
- UK is 40-40 in the month of May under Coach Mingione.
- Mingione now is 6-13 vs. Florida.
- UK has scored in 351 of 358 games in Mingione’s tenure.
- UK is 11-11 this season vs. ranked opponents.
- The Cats are 5-7 vs. Top Five opponents.
- UK is 25-6 at home this season.
- UK is 97-48 all-time at Kentucky Proud Park.
- Outfielder Jackson Gray He has reached safely in 22 consecutive games.
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- He has hits in 21 of his last 22 games.
- Infielder Grant Smith went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk.
- He has homered in five straight games.
- He is the first Wildcat to homer in five straight SEC games since UK Hall of Famer and former Golden Spikes Award winner AJ Reed in 2014.
- He has homered in five straight games.
- Catcher Devin Burkes went 2-for-3 with a run, two RBI, a double and a SAC.
- He has a nine-game hit streak.
- He had his 17th multi-hit game.
- He now is 15 of his last 28.
- Pitcher Austin Strickland made his first start of the season.
- He pitched a career best 6.2 innings and matched a career best with seven strikeouts.
- He had a one-hitter into the seventh.
ON DECK
Kentucky travels to Hoover, Alabama and will play Tuesday at the SEC Tournament.
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