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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>UF third baseman Jonathan India's solo home run jump-started the Gators' offense on a 3-2 win against Jacksonville at the Gainesville Regional. His solo home run was one of three for Florida on the night. </p>

UF third baseman Jonathan India's solo home run jump-started the Gators' offense on a 3-2 win against Jacksonville at the Gainesville Regional. His solo home run was one of three for Florida on the night. 

Wil Dalton busted the game open in the third inning. His three-run homer gave the No. 1 Gators an insurmountable six-run lead the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats couldn’t touch. But his at-bat wasn’t the night’s most memorable.

That came in the top of the ninth inning courtesy of Florida third baseman Jonathan India.

India carried a 24-game hitting streak into Lexington, which put him five games shy of tying UF’s all-time record. He stepped up for one final at-bat to lead off the top of the ninth after going 0-for-3 with a walk so far Thursday night.

India took one ball, then two, then a third on a pitch in the dirt. UK freshman Trip Lockhart finally pumped one into the zone to make the count 3-1, but with his fourth ball on the next pitch, India’s streak came to an anticlimactic end.

He trotted to first base with his 24-game streak enshrined as the third-best in Florida history, but also knowing it would go no further.

On a night where Florida (33-7, 13-3 SEC) dominated, taking out the Wildcats 11-2, that was the night’s most intriguing moment. But it wasn’t the only one.

Another immediately followed. Following India’s walk, the Gators came two batters away from hitting around the order to give India a sixth chance. But Deacon Liput chopped a grounder to second base and was thrown out to end that possibility.

Aside from his groundout to dash the dreams of a 25-game hit streak, Liput paced the team with three RBIs, as did Dalton. Freshman Brady Smith was the other standout with his second home run of the season and a pair of RBIs.

Ace Brady Singer led the way on the mound in unfamiliar territory. Usually Florida’s Friday night starter, he pitched on a Thursday because UF’s series against the Wildcats (25-13, 7-9 SEC) runs Thursday through Saturday. The results were the same as usual.

Singer earned his eighth win by pitching seven innings, striking out 10, walking one and allowing two earned runs. The first was a little bit of bad luck.

Singer was up 0-2 on UK’s Luke Heyer when a pitch squirted inside and nipped Heyer’s elbow.

The next hitter, lefty Luke Becker, sliced a fly ball deep down the left field line. It landed ahead of a sprinting Austin Langworthy, who was shaded toward center field for the left-handed bat, and danced into the corner.

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Langworthy took a while to find it, allowing Heyer to score easily.

A single from Ben Aklinski gave Kentucky its only other run on the night, but aside from those fourth inning struggles, Singer was untouchable. He only allowed one hit outside of that inning.

Freshman Tommy Mace finished off the Wildcats in two scoreless innings.

The win was Florida’s first of the week after falling to Jacksonville on Tuesday. The series will continue on Friday at 7:30, with Jackson Kowar (6-1) on the mound for UF.

Follow Ethan Bauer on Twitter @ebaueri and contact him at ebauer@alligator.org.

UF third baseman Jonathan India's solo home run jump-started the Gators' offense on a 3-2 win against Jacksonville at the Gainesville Regional. His solo home run was one of three for Florida on the night. 

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