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Kentucky tops Florida in extras: UK stays tied for SEC lead, UF’s NCAA Tournament hopes take hit

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

Kentucky is leaving Gainesville with a series victory, its first over Florida since 2016, picking up a key victory Sunday for its SEC title hopes.

UK entered the day tied with Tennessee for the best record in the SEC at 19-7. The Wildcats move into the final week of the regular with a 20-7 mark. Whether the Cats are the sole leader or tied for best record will depend on the outcome of the Tennessee-Vanderbilt game.

On Sunday, Kentucky defeated 7-5 in extra innings. Much like Friday’s series opener, a big top of the 10th was the deciding factor.

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UK loaded the bases before Florida’s Brandon Neely recorded an out. A 1-out infield single made it 4-3. The bags were juiced with 2 outs when Patrick Herrera’s fly to left was misplayed by Tyler Shelnut, resulting in a bases-clearing double to extend the lead to 7-3.

Like Friday, the Gators rallied in the bottom of the 10th, but it wasn’t enough. Haden Yost’s 2-out, 2-RBI cut it to 7-5. Yost represented the tying run with Shelnut at third base and pinch hitter Landon Russell at the plate.

Ben Cleaver was fired up to end the game with a strikeout.

Florida’s NCAA Tournament chances take major hit

Kentucky entered the series projected to be the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators entered with 10 SEC wins, needing to get to 13 by the end of the regular season. Three games later, the Gators are at 11 SEC wins.

In the series opener, UF jumped out to a 5-1 lead and were holding onto an 8-6 advantage in the 9th before disaster struck, ending in a 12-11 extra innings loss.

In late April, Florida went to Arkansas and lost 2-1 and 6-5 before a 9-5 win to avoid a sweep. On Selection Monday, though, losing by 1 run or in extra innings won’t help. The Gators are simply coming up short in the win column.

It is extremely rare for a 12-18 SEC team to make the NCAA Tournament. Florida’s RPI is down to No. 27 with the Sunday loss, behind an Ole Miss bubble team.

Up next for Florida is Georgia. UGA happens to be the hottest team in the SEC with an 8-game win streak, including back-to-back sweeps of Vanderbilt and South Carolina. The series will be played Thursday-Saturday in Athens, where the Dawgs are 28-3 this season.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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