LEXINGTON, Ky. -- It's been a challenging season for Kentucky's John Rhodes.
The 2020 co-national freshman of the year and preseason All-American has not been able to duplicate his team-leading .378 batting average from last season, but the sophomore right-fielder saved his biggest hit to date for when it mattered most.
Rhodes lashed a two-out, two-run single to center in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday to give the Wildcats a 7-5 win over No. 10 Florida in the series opener at Kentucky Proud Park.
"I was up there looking fastball, trying to be on the heater," Rhodes of the clutch at-bat against Florida reliever Jack Leftwich. "... Honestly, I'm not sure what pitch I hit, but I got it off the cap, and it fell through, thank God.
"It's been a difficult season for me, but I've just tried to stay positive and learn."
Rhodes went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI on the night, raising his season average to a modest .252. He also made a key defensive play in the seventh inning, diving to take away a hit from Florida's Nathan Hickey with two outs and the bases loaded that would have given the Gators a lead.
Instead, the score remained 5-5, setting up the dramatic finish.
Rhodes wasn't the only hero for Kentucky (27-15, 11-11 SEC). Senior right-hander Daniel Harper came out of the bullpen with two men on and no outs in the top of the eighth inning. He struck out the first batter he faced, and after allowing a single to load the bases, struck out the next two Gators to keep the game tied.
Harper (3-0) struck out two more batters in the ninth inning and got Hickey to pop up in foul territory to third baseman Chase Estep to end the game.
Kentucky had 14 hits on the night, including three from senior second baseman Zeke Lewis. Austin Schultz, Ryan Ritter, Cam Hill, and Rhodes each added two hits.
UK starter Cole Stupp was impressive on the mound before running into trouble in the seventh inning. He allowed four runs in the seventh after holding the Gators to just one run on two hits in the previous six innings.
Trey Van Der Weide (2-2) took the loss for Florida in relief of starter Franco Aleman. Van Der Weide allowed one run (unearned) on a pair of hits. He was hurt by two of the Gators' three errors on the night, as well as two of his own wild pitches.
The win helps the Cats stay in the discussion for an NCAA Tournament bid. UK has three SEC series remaining, including two more games against the Gators and six against South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Most college baseball analysts believe Nick Mingione's squad is currently on the bubble and would likely need four wins in their final eight games to secure a bid, barring a deep SEC Tournament run.
A win against the preseason national No. 1 squad is certainly a resume-booster for UK. It was the third victory by the Cats against a Top 10 team this season.
"You can't get caught up in the name and get caught up in the numbers," Rhodes said. "We think we're a good club. We've just got to go out there and perform and play our game every day. Whoever's on the other side is on the other side. We have our own game goals. We're just worried about us and trying to win."
Florida (31-14, 13-8 SEC) came to Lexington on a roll, coming off a winning series against defending national champion Vanderbilt to get back in contention for the league's regular-season title.
The series resumes with Game 2 on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
