GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Interstat) — Caden McDonald pitched 4 1/3 hitless innings of relief and hit a two-run home run to lead Florida to a 9-6 victory over Kentucky on Sunday afternoon at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium.

McDonald entered in the top of the fourth inning with Florida trailing 5-3 after Kentucky’s Will Marcy had just blasted a three-run homer. The right-hander struck out six, walked none and allowed no hits over his stint, retiring 13 of the 14 batters he faced. At the plate, McDonald singled in the first inning and later crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to give Florida a 7-5 lead.

Hayden Yost went 2 for 3 with a two-run homer in the fourth and added a sacrifice fly in the seventh as Florida (34-18, 16-12 Southeastern Conference) won the rubber match of the three-game series. Brendan Lawson also homered for the Gators, a solo shot in the first inning.

Kentucky (30-18, 14-14) took an early lead when J. Tharnish scored on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first. Lawson answered in the bottom half with a solo homer, and Florida added two more runs on doubles from Owen and Stripling to go ahead 3-1.

The Wildcats rallied in the top of the fourth. L. Lawrence doubled and scored on a single by B Van Cleave. After a walk and a stolen base by C. Cloud, Marcy launched a three-run homer to left-center field, putting Kentucky up 5-3.

Florida responded immediately. Strayer singled, and Yost homered to right field to tie the game. Later in the inning, after Lawson walked, McDonald homered to right field for a 7-5 Florida lead.

The Gators added insurance in the seventh. Kurland singled and Strayer doubled, then Yost’s sacrifice fly scored Kurland. Cyr followed with another sacrifice fly to score Strayer, making it 9-5.

Kentucky’s H. Brown homered in the top of the ninth, but Florida reliever Whritenour closed the game.

McDonald’s performance highlighted a pitching staff that combined to allow just six hits while striking out 11. Florida’s bullpen threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings after the Wildcats’ initial outburst. Kentucky used six pitchers, with Connor Mattison taking the loss after allowing two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Florida grounded into two double plays but overcame them with 14 hits and two sacrifice flies. Kentucky had six hits but also grounded into one double play.

The Gators won the series 2-1 after dropping the opener Saturday 4-2 and winning Friday 7-6. Florida now heads to LSU for a three-game series starting Thursday. Kentucky returns home to face Northern Kentucky on Tuesday before a home series against Arkansas.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Florida 5, Kentucky 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Florida a 54.20 percent probability to win. Florida was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5.