WHAT HAPPENED: Florida used the long ball to power past Kentucky on Friday night 10-8 at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville.
 
The Gators racked up 13 hits, including three home runs and five doubles, to beat the Wildcats. Nelson Maldonado had three hits and a career-high five RBI on the night.
 
Brady McConnell led off the bottom of the first with a solo shot to left field for a 1-0 lead. In the second, Maldonado connected on a three-run home run to push the lead to 4-0.
 
Kentucky climbed back into the game in the third inning, cutting the lead to one on Coltyn Kessler's two-run homer.
 
There was a scary moment in the top of the fifth inning, as UF starter Tommy Mace took a line drive to the face that knocked him to the ground. He walked off the field under his own power and was replaced by Christian Scott. On the play, the Wildcats tied the game as Marshall Gei was able to score from second.
 
Florida retook the lead in the bottom half of the fifth with four-straight, two-out hits. Cory Acton singled to left then Wil Dalton launched a ball into the parking lot beyond left center. Brady Smith and Jacob Young followed with back-to-back doubles to make it 7-4.
 
Kentucky cut the lead to one again in the sixth with a pair of unearned runs, but the Gators responded with three runs of their own.
 
Maldonado ripped a double down the left field line to bring in two runs and Dalton's sac fly made it 10-6 through six innings.
 
The Cats scored a pair of rebound runs, both unearned, in the top of the seventh to trim the lead to 10-8 but the Gators held on.
 
Nolan Crisp took the mound in the top of the eighth and held the lead to notch his eighth save of the season, his first since March 8.
 
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Brady Smith – The sophomore catcher went 3-for-4 on Friday night and is 11-for-23 (.478) over the last 11 games. In that span, he has raised his average from .203 to .278 on the season.
 
STANDOUT STAT: 22 – After racking up 13 hits on Friday, the Gators have totaled 10+ hits in 22 games this season, including 10 times in the last 16 games. As a team, Florida is hitting .297 on the year and averaging 7.2 runs per game.
 
FROM THE COACH:
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan – On Tommy Mace: "I talked to Jon [Michelini], our trainer, and he's ok. We really dodged a bullet there. When it first happened, we thought it caught him flush, but obviously when he got up right away that was a good sign … I went back there after it happened and Jon kept us updated throughout the game and he's going to be ok."
On the offense: "I think probably the big inning was the fifth, we had two outs and nobody on and scored three runs. Wil ran into a ball and hit a two-run homer there. Nelly had a great night with three hits and five RBI."
 
On the pitching: "The biggest takeaway on the pitching side, other than Tommy being ok, is Nolan Crisp came in and did a nice job and got five outs on 20 pitches. It was good to get him going again."
 
UP NEXT: Florida and Kentucky continue the series Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will air live on SEC Network and the Gators Sports Network.