Kentucky Claws Back with Gutsy 6-5 Win Over Wake Forest to Open NCAA Tournament

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — For a program record fourth consecutive season, Kentucky earned one of 64 spots in the NCAA baseball tournament. This year, the Wildcats shipped east to Morgantown where the Demon Deacons awaited a Friday first round matchup.

Kentucky embraces its brand of baseball, and overcame an early deficit to beat Wake Forest 6-5 Friday afternoon.

Wake Forest got to Kentucky's ace, Jaxon Jelkin, early with a trio of hits in the bottom of the first inning. Third-team All-ACC selection Javar Williams slashed a double down the right field line, and scored off a Kade Lewis single to give the Demon Deacons an early 1-0 advantage.

The Wildcats, on the other hand, struggled to muster up any offense early. Kentucky's first time through the order saw just one hit and three strikeouts against Wake Forest ace Chris Levonas.

Wake Forest tacked onto their lead with a 416-foot moonshot from Demon Deacons' catcher Matt Conte. The two-run home run gave Wake Forest a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth inning, Kentucky broke through on Levonas.

Freshman Caeden Cloud came up with a two out RBI double to put the Wildcats on the board. Cloud's 12th extra base hit of the season narrowed the Kentucky deficit to 3-1.

Once the Wildcats got to the Demon Deacons' bullpen, Kentucky flipped the game on its head.

After Tyler Bell got hit by a pitch, Luke Lawrence and Hudson Brown reached base off walks to load the bases against Rhys Bowie. Another freshman stepped up for the Wildcats. This time, Braxton Van Cleave flipped a double down the left field line to tie the game up 3-3.

Brown scored off a wild pitch, and Van Cleave scored off a Carson Hansen sacrifice fly. Kentucky four-run top of the sixth inning gave the Wildcats a 5-3 advantage.

A monster 418 foot home run off the bat of Andrew Costello in the bottom of the sixth inning cut the deficit in half for the Demon Deacons. Jelkin finished the sixth inning, and ended his day afterward. The junior finished with nine hits surrendered, four earned runs and five strikeouts.

Nile Adcock worked a clean seventh inning, but in the eighth frame he was tagged for Wake Forest's third home run of the day. Dalton Wentz stroked a solo shot to tie the game up 5-5 heading into the ninth inning.

Heads up base running by Jayce Tharnish helped give Kentucky the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning. The Wildcats' center fielder stole a pair of bases and advanced to home on a wild pitch to put UK up 6-5.

In the bottom frame, Jack Soucie closed the door with a clean inning. Kentucky advances in the winners' bracket and will play the winner of West Virginia versus Binghamton this Saturday at 5 p.m.

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