Wave of sixth-inning paper cuts bleeds Kentucky out of SEC Tournament

Kentucky looked poised to take care of business in its SEC Tournament opener on Tuesday afternoon in Hoover, Ala.

The Wildcats were holding a three-run lead, and their ace, Jaxon Jelkin, had easily dispatched the first two Vanderbilt batters who stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning.

And then it unraveled.

Jelkin issued a two-out walk, and the floodgates opened. The Commodores dribbled four consecutive singles through the holes in the infield to tie the game at 4-4, then plated the go-ahead run on a Kentucky throwing error en route to an 8-5 win at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

Vanderbilt (33-24) advances to face Florida on Wednesday with its season hanging in the balance. The Commodores likely need a deep run in the SEC tourney to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.

Meanwhile, Kentucky (31-21) may have earned itself some sleepless nights between now and the tourney selection show next Monday at Noon ET. The Cats are currently believed to be in the field of 64, thanks to their strong season metrics, but they have placed themselves on or near the dreaded “bubble.”

For the first five innings, it didn’t seem like UK would have to sweat things out.

Kentucky grabbed a 1-0 lead in its first trip to the plate when Tyler Bell doubled into the right-center gap, and Luke Lawrence brought him home with an RBI single up the middle.

Bell struck again in the third inning, driving a 3-2 pitch from Fennell deep over the wall in right field for his seventh home run of the season.

Vandy responded in the bottom of the third, getting on the board when Colin Barczi doubled and came around to score on a two-out RBI single by Brodie Johnston.

Kentucky got that run back in the top of the fourth when Carson Hansen drove a pitch the opposite way for a solo home run over the wall in left-center, making it a 3-1 lead for the Cats.

Lawrence struck again in the top of the fifth when, after Caeden Cloud drew a walk and stole second, he came through with a two-out double into the left-center gap to make it a 4-1 game. Lawrence saw nine pitches in the at-bat, fouling off five pitches, to help chase Vandy’s Fennell from the game.

Jelkin ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth after issuing a two-out walk to Logan Johnstone. The next four batters for Vandy all found holes, bouncing singles just past outstretched gloves on the infield to tie the game at 4-4 and force UK to the bullpen.

It looked like Jack Sams had the Cats out of the disastrous frame, but Caedon Cloud could not throw accurately to first after fielding a ground ball at third, and the Dores suddenly had a 5-4 lead.

It remained a one-run lead for Vandy until a three-run eighth gave the Dores some insurance runs. Another UK throwing error — this time by catcher Owen Jenkins on a steal attempt at third — helped produce the first run. Johnston then smashed a two-run homer to left to make it an 8-4 game.

The unsung hero for Vandy was relief pitcher Alex Kranzler (3-3).

Kentucky knocked starter Connor Fennell out after just 4.2 innings, but Kranzler, who entered the game with a 6.64 ERA on the season, retired the first 11 batters he faced and allowed only one run on one hit and a walk.

Jelkin (8-3) took the loss. The junior right-hander allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks before exiting in the fateful sixth inning. He struck out four.

Up Next:

Kentucky must now sit and wait six long nights to learn its fate in the NCAA Tournament. The Cats were projected as a 3 seed entering today’s play, ahead of several other bubble teams. One of those, NC State, lost in the ACC Tournament. But if any of the smaller conference favorites fail to get their league’s automatic bid, it could be precarious for Nick Mingione’s squad. The selection show will be held at Noon ET on Monday.

FINAL UK BOX: pic.twitter.com/v92fOeQt0K

— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) May 19, 2026