GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In quest of their first Southeastern Conference regular-season title in three years, the Gators faced a must-win game on Friday night to keep their bid alive for an outright league crown.

The Gators got exactly what they needed, a 14-3 win over Kentucky.

The victory kept Florida (39-15, 20-9) even with LSU (38-17, 20-9) atop the SEC standings with a game to play. The Tigers won 11-5 at Mississippi State on Friday. In addition, the Gators technically clinched at least a share of the SEC East title as the loss dropped the Wildcats (38-17, 19-10) a game back in the conference and division standings.

Florida can win the East outright with a win Saturday and clinch at least a share of the conference title. If Mississippi State can avoid getting swept at home by LSU and UF wins, the Gators clinch the SEC regular-season crown outright after an 0-3 start in conference play.

"That just goes to show you how much parity there is in this league,'' O'Sullivan said of the conference race coming down to the final day of the regular season. "It's fun to be a part of it and we're playing for something."

In the biggest regular-season start of his career, Brady Singer delivered a strong outing Friday against a Kentucky lineup that pounded 20 hits in a 12-4 win in the first game of the series on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Florida's offense did its job too, as eight of the nine starters had at least one hit, led by a 3-for-4, five-RBI performance from catcher Mark Kolozsvary.

The Gators took an early lead they never relinquished when Kolozsvary skied a high fly ball that kept drifting toward the right-field line in the second inning. Wildcats outfielder Tristan Pompey gave chase but the ball bounced off his glove and dropped just over the fence inside the foul pole for a two-run homer.

The home run jump-started a big night for Kolozsvary at the plate. He added an RBI single in the third, drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth, and added an RBI single in the eighth to cap a clutch performance with much at stake.

"The championships are what we come here to play for,'' Kolozsvary said.

Florida, which has not won a series against Kentucky since 2012, will try Saturday to win its first series against the Wildcats in 10 years after losing the first game.

They certainly showed up for the challenge on Friday as O'Sullivan earned his 435th career win at UF, passing Joe Arnold for the second-most wins in school history.

The Gators followed up Kolozsvary's homer by adding four runs in the third, one in the fourth and four more in the fifth to take a commanding 11-0 lead as Singer carried a no-hitter into the sixth. Singer allowed his first hit when Pompey led off with a double in the sixth.

The early lead set a tone that lasted throughout the game, much like Pompey's grand slam in the fourth inning did in Kentucky's win Thursday after the Gators spotted started Alex Faedo a three-run lead early.

"Oh, yeah, especially what happened to us last night,'' said third baseman Jonathan India. "Just getting on the board first and attacking them first. They are a great hitting team. We had to get on the board first and put some pressure on them."

Kentucky did not score until a large portion of the 4,153 in attendance had departed, confident in the victory and anticipating Saturday's decisive game.

In the seventh, Singer allowed his first runs on Kole Cottam's two-run homer. Otherwise, Singer had little trouble a night after Kentucky's SEC-leading offense roughed up Faedo for 13 hits and seven runs.

"Had a game plan, stuck to it and executed it,'' Singer said. "We had a different game plan [than Thursday]. They hit it really well last night. I thought Alex made a lot of really good pitches. They're just really good hitters."

Added O'Sullivan: "He threw the ball to both sides of the plate. He threw his breaking ball when he needed to. That's probably about as good as he's thrown all year long."

Singer limited Kentucky to three runs and five hits over seven innings. He struck out eight and walked three for his seventh win of the season -- and most important one considering the circumstances.

The biggest trouble he faced Friday was when he walked the bases loaded in the fourth with two outs. Singer struck out Troy Squires to end the threat and fist-pumped his way toward the dugout.

"The moment. The SEC Championship is on the line,'' Singer said of the emotional outburst.

The Gators will start sophomore Jackson Kowar in Saturday afternoon's game. Kowar is 9-0 very capable of doing what Singer did Friday.

The 55th game of the regular season will decide a lot. The SEC title. The SEC East. The No. 1 overall seed in the SEC Tournament next week.

The Gators did what they had to do Friday. Now they'll try to rinse and repeat.

"We put ourselves in position to hopefully win an SEC Championship,'' O'Sullivan said. "We'll give it our best shot."