LEXINGTON, Ky. (Interstat) — Kentucky erased an early deficit and defeated West Virginia 11-9 on Saturday. The Wildcats scored four runs in the first inning, highlighted by Braxton VanCleave’s two-run homer and a two-run single from Ethan Hindle. Hindle added an RBI fielder’s choice in the second, and Luke Lawrence delivered an RBI double in the same inning, putting Kentucky ahead 6-0. West Virginia answered with Gavin Kelly’s two-run homer in the third and three runs in the fourth, including a Tyrus Hall RBI double and a run scored on a balk. Kelly homered again in the sixth, and Hall doubled in a run in the seventh, giving the Mountaineers a 9-8 lead. Kentucky tied it in the eighth on Lawrence’s RBI single, then took the lead on Brown’s two-run single. West Virginia scored an unearned run in the ninth but fell short. Kelly homered twice for WV, while Hindle drove in three runs. The Mountaineers drop to 40-15, the Wildcats improve to 33-21.