Jaxon Jelkin leads Kentucky to 3-1 win over Ole Miss
Kentucky's ace turned in another strong performance to help the Wildcats even the series against Ole Miss.
After having its 13-game winning streak snapped in a shutout on Thursday night against Ole Miss, Senior righty Jaxon Jelkin returned the favor with a great outing paired with a big inning as Kentucky evened the series in a 3-1 win.
Jelkin turned in a phenomenal seven-inning outing to lead the way in game two. The top of the lineup for Ole Miss went 4-10 with two walks and three RBIs in game one, but Jelkin retired the side in order in his first inning of work.
That set the tone for his outing as he gave up a leadoff walk in the second, but erased it with a double play before a grounder ended the inning. Jelkin followed a similar script in the third as he gave up a leadoff single, struck out a batter then got a double play to end the inning.
His offense got rolling in the fourth inning thanks to some help from a few Ole Miss mishaps in the outfield. Shortstop Luke Lawrence and DH Tyler Bell got on the base paths with a double and a single to bring up first baseman Hudson Brown, who was the lone star at the plate in game one.
The sophomore stung a ball into center, but it appeared centerfielder Hayden Federico ran it down, but it popped out of his glove, allowing both runners to score. A botched pickoff allowed Brown to move to third and catcher Owen Jenkins skied a ball deep to right and right fielder Tristan Bissetta could not make the play as it landed for a triple and another run.
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Jelkin took the newfound 3-0 lead to the hill and got two quick outs before giving up a single. However, a strikeout ended the inning and kept Ole Miss off the board. The righty followed that up with a three-up, three-down fifth inning of work. Jelkin was rolling to this point in the game, but the sixth got a bit off the rails.
Former Wildcat Austin Fawley tagged Jelkin for a solo shot to trim the UK lead to 3-1. That swing was followed by a single. Jelkin got an out before walking a batter to bring up the go-ahead run, but the righty retired the next two batters to keep Ole Miss off the board.
Jelkin returned for the seventh and got two quick outs before walking a batter, who moved to second on a wild pitch. The senior got a groundout to end his seventh and final inning of work. Jelkin finished the following final line: seven innings pitched, four hits, one run, three walks and six strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 2.94 in the win.
Senior right-hander Nile Adcock came on in the eighth, needing six outs for the win and retired the side in order. Adcock got two quick outs in the ninth before hitting a batter to bring the tying run up. He walked the next batter to bring up the winning run to the plate. However, Adcock struck out the next batter to secure the win in game two.
The offense did not light up the stat sheet again in game two, but took advantage of some big mistakes and let pitching lead the way for the win. Kentucky finished 6-30 (.200) and 2-8 (.250) with runners in scoring position at the plate.
With the series now tied, Kentucky will go for the series win in the rubber match Saturday at 2:30 pm.
