Jayce Tharnish Lifts Kentucky Baseball Past Wake Forest 6-5

Kentucky baseball beat No. 2-seeded Wake Forest 6-5 on Friday in the Morgantown Regional opener, and Jayce Tharnish finished the rally with the winning run in the ninth inning. The Wildcats improved to 32-21 after erasing a 3-0 deficit in the back half of the game.

Tharnish Sets Up the Winner

Tharnish started the decisive push with a single to right field with one out in the ninth. He then stole second and third before scoring on a wild pitch.

That sequence turned a one-run game into Kentucky’s first NCAA Tournament win. It also sent Wake Forest, the No. 2 seed, into the loser’s side of the regional after carrying a 3-0 lead earlier in the day.

Cloud and Van Cleave Answer

Kentucky’s comeback had already started before the ninth. Freshman Caeden Cloud delivered an RBI double in the fifth inning, then Braxton Van Cleave returned to the lineup and drove in two runs in the sixth on a soft two-strike liner over the third baseman’s head.

Carson Hansen added a sacrifice fly in that four-run sixth inning. That stretch wiped out the early deficit and gave Kentucky a path to the finish line against Chris Levonas and Wake Forest’s staff.

Soucie and Hansen Finish It

Jackson Soucie handled the ninth without a run, and Hansen sealed it with a sliding snag of a line drive to left field to end the game. Kentucky needed every run it got after falling behind 3-0, and the back half of the lineup delivered enough to survive the pressure of an opener against a high seed.

Kentucky will face the winner of West Virginia and Binghamton at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Wildcats now go back into the regional with momentum and a 1-0 start that keeps their NCAA Tournament run alive.