JACKSONVILLE – Kentucky broke open a 1-1 deadlock with a late-game offensive splurge to down Jacksonville State, 15-1, in the final game of the season-opening series on Sunday afternoon at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

The Wildcats pushed two runs across the plate in the sixth and seventh for the lead and broke the game open with two big run-scoring frames to complete the sweep of JSU. UK opened the game with one of four unearned runs in the contest in the first inning off of JSU starter Camden Lovrich. Lovrich was effective for five innings, scattering four hits and striking out a Wildcat in his season debut.

Jax State's run came in the second on sophomore Derrick Jackson, Jr.'s RBI fielders' choice. Freshman Brennen Norton opened the inning with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and took third on senior Alex Strachan's base hit. The hits in the second inning were two of the three hits allowed by UK pitching. JSU's third hit came from junior T.J. Reeves, who started the fourth inning with a single. Reeves, a transfer from Alabama, finished the weekend with four hits, including a home run on Friday and another on Saturday. JSU was limited to four baserunners after the fourth with two walks and a pair of hit by pitches.

UK's production was led by Jacob Plastiak and Daniel Harris, who both collected three hits each. Tyler Bosma earned the win for the Wildcats, while Trey Fortner was saddled with the loss out of the bullpen.

JSU will face another Southeastern Conference foe in its first road contest of the season on Tuesday. The Gamecocks will travel to Tuscaloosa to face the Crimson Tide of Alabama. First pitch from Sewell-Thomas Stadium on the UA campus is set for 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+, the online platform of the SEC Network. The in0-state match up will also be available on the Gamecock Sports Network.