Takeaways: Kentucky opens Evansville series with blowout win

After dropping a midweek game against Morehead State in the home opener on Tuesday, No. 18 Kentucky bounced back with a dominating 9-2 win on the road at Evansville. The Wildcats improved to 4-1 behind strong individual offensive performances and a pitching staff that overpowered the Purple Aces' lineup.

Kentucky, which scored six runs against Morehead State but collected just one hit after the fifth inning, cranked out 12 hits and posted a .308 batting average as a team. The pitching staff held the Purple Aces to .161 hitting.

Here are some takeaways from the series-opening win.

Early homers set the tone for the offense

While Kentucky would've liked more runs against the Eagles earlier in the week, the Wildcats entered the weekend averaging 10 runs per game through their four contests. The offense, generally speaking, has not been a problem. But much of the production was absent from the long ball. Kentucky's only homer in the first four games was a grand slam from Luke Lawrence in the season-opener.

That changed early against Evansville. Junior outfielder Jayce Tharnish crushed a first-pitch solo homer over the left field fence to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Kentucky was held off the board in the second inning, but in the third, left fielder Ryan Schwartz crushed a three-run homer to make it 4-0. Schwartz, who had four hits in a game in North Carolina last week, made hard contact in a few at-bats during Tuesday's loss but was unlucky as he finished 0-5. The three-run shot helped create some distance in the early going.

However, Kentucky created offense in other ways, too. Following Schwartz's solo shot, first baseman Hudson Brown hit a flare down the left field line that was nearly caught but just popped out of the glove of the defender, leading to a double. Brown came around to score on a wild pitch. He finished 3-4 in the win.

In the fourth inning, Kentucky caught a break when Evansville right fielder Harrison Taubert dropped a deep fly off the bat of Ethan Hindle. Hindle reached third on the play and scored when Tharnish hit a double. Tharnish came around to score on a double into the right-center field gap by Brown. The Wildcats tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth but didn't score after that.

Jelkin dominates second consecutive outing

In his first start back from Tommy John surgery, Jelkin struck out 10 batters and held UNC Greensboro in the season-opener. All of Kentucky's starters were on a pitch count last weekend, so Jelkin's outing lasted just four innings. But in his second start, it was more of the same dominance from the redshirt junior out of Nebraska.

Jelkin struck out six batters and allowed just one hit through the first four innings. His scoreless streak lasted eight innings to begin the season but ended when Taubert homered to left field to open the fifth inning to make the score 9-1. Jelkin followed that up with a walk, but following a mound visit, Jelkin induced a groundball for a double play and then struck out leadoff hitter Reid Haire to end the frame.

The strikeout of Haire was the end of the line for Jelkin. His final line: five innings pitched, three hits, earned run, two walks, seven strikeouts. For the season, Jelkin has 17 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .161 batting average.

Three pitchers make UK debuts

Freshman left-hander Will Coleman, an Indiana native, made his first college appearance in the win. Coleman replaced Jelkin in the sixth inning and struck out two of the first three batters he faced. He didn't allow a hit over three innings and finished with four strikeouts. It was an encouraging first outing for the freshman.

Right-hander Oliver Boone also made his Kentucky debut. Boone, who missed last season after having Tommy John surgery, transferred to Kentucky in the summer of 2024 after pitching at Cal-Berkeley as a freshman. He retired the first two batters he faced before running into some trouble.

Boone allowed four straight runners to reach, starting with a double from Ximi Baftiri and then an RBI single to Taubert. Boone then walked pinch-hitter Trent Lombardo and plunked Spike Magill to load the bases, ending his night. Head coach Nick Mingione turned to freshman Jack Sams to get the final out. Sams, a graduate of Lexington Catholic, struck out Haire in three pitches to secure the win. How about a three-pitch punchout with the bases juiced to begin your career?

A change at the top of the order

With left-hander Kenton Deverman on the mound for the Purple Aces, Kentucky went with a right-handed heavy lineup. Lawrence, who had hit leadoff in the first four games of the year, dropped down to seventh and Hindle moved to the leadoff spot. Brown was the only other lefty in the starting nine. Junior Tagger Tyson handled the catching duties while freshman Owen Jenkins served as the DH. Jenkins collected a pair of hits in the win.

With a big lead late, and once Evansville went to its bullpen and brought in right-hander Owen Byberg, Kentucky made a few substitutions. Outfielder Carson Hansen made his season debut after missing the first four games with an injury. He flew out to center field in his only at-bat. Freshman Braxton Van Cleave came in at first base and grounded out in his only plate appearance. Caeden Cloud, another freshman, was hit by a pitch in his lone appearance and played shortstop.

Up next

The teams will finish the series with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, with game two to follow shortly after the completion of the first game. There will be no streaming option for the doubleheader.

Left-hander Ben Cleaver will take the ball in game one of the doubleheader, followed by righty Nate Harris in the series finale.