Mother’s Day at the ballpark: Florida baseball beats Kentucky Wildcats

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Following two days of rain-delayed baseball, the Florida Gators got an early start on Mother’s Day in the series finale against the Kentucky Wildcats at Condron Family Ballpark. It was a crisp May morning with partly cloudy skies, a temperature of 76 degrees and the wind blowing out to center field at a calm 3 mph.

Suffice it to say, it was a perfect morning for college baseball.

The final home game of the regular season saw some pregame festivities honoring players on Senior Day while a young fan threw out the first pitch. A sparse crowd was expected for a 10 a.m. ET start, but those who showed up brought plenty of excitement along with them.

Things started right on time as the sun steadily rose over the horizon to smile on Sunday morning’s clay diamond action. Russell Sandefer took the mound for the start and opened up the game allowing a run in the top of the first while Brendan Lawson answered with a solo shot in the bottom of the frame to quickly even things up; the Gators knocked out starter Nate Harris and would tack on two more before the inning ended.

By the end of the second inning, the cloud cover began to thicken and the wind shifted toward right field before, softening to a very gentle breeze as the 11 o’clock hour turned over. A vociferous minority of the crowd cheered on the Gators as the sun came out as if to affirm their presence.

The fourth inning brought both runs and rain back into play, with the both the Wildcats and Gators tacking on four apiece before thick droplets began falling from the sky as the bottom half of the frame concluded. The brief shower lasted mere minutes before the sun returned to the field in true Florida fashion.

After that quick break, the game resumed with Caden McDonald, who entered in relief during the fourth-inning bleeding session, climbing back on the mound. Kentucky, on the other hand, had already used up six of its pitchers, with only one lasting longer than three outs.

As the top of the sixth rolled around, rain could be seen rolling in from the north as the Gators held onto a 7-5 lead. But fortunately for the fans, those grey clouds kept their distance and the game continued unabated, allowing them to partake in the traditional seventh-inning stretch festivities in the warm sunshine.

Florida tacked on two to its lead in the bottom of the seventh and the two teams cruised through the eight into the ninth inning. Josh Whritenour made things interesting by giving up a solo shot to the lead off hitter in the top of the frame as the rain began to fall — a nice steady sun-shower.