Jaxon Jelkin, Kentucky Offense Dominate in Season Opener
Greensboro, N.C. – Kentucky’s Jaxon Jelkin wasted no time putting his electric right arm on full display and the offense exploded for a 13-2 opening day victory at UNC Greensboro on Friday.
Jelkin recorded his first seven outs via strikeout and punched on 10 in four innings as the Wildcats’ pitchers set a new single game of nine innings school record with 20 strikeouts. Relievers Connor Mattison (seven) and Tristan Hunter (three) closed out the victory.
Jelkin, who sat out last season rehabbing an injury, was up to 99 MPH in the fall and immediately took control in his official return to the mound. He struck out the first two batters on six total pitches and only allowed two hits in the game.
The offense was nearly as good, led by a blur of a player in Jayce Tharnish, homegrown freshman Owen Jenkins and old standy Luke Lawrence’s grand slam. Tharnish and Jenkins both had triples in their opening at bats as the Cats tied a 19-year old school record for triples in a game with three. Tharnish added three stolen bases.
After pushing across three runs in the first two innings the Cats roared to an eight-run third inning. Four players had multiple RBI in the game, three had multiple hits and three drew two hit by pitch.
NOTES
- Kentucky is 1-0 on the season.
- UK has begun the season on the road 27 of the past 28 seasons.
- UK is 118-63 since the beginning of 2023.
- This was the first all-time meeting between UK and UNCG.
- UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his 10th season at the helm and now owns a 294-192 career record.
- Mingione is the second-winningest coach in school history.
- UK is 54-18 in the month of February under Coach Mingione.
- He is 7-3 in season openers.
- Mingione is 170-52 in non-conference games.
- He is 149-23 vs. non-Power Four opponents.
- Mingione now is 1-0 vs. UNCG.
- UK pitchers set the school record 20 strikeouts in a nine inning game.
- UK also did not walk a batter.
- UK tied the school record with three triples in a game (vs. Furman, 2007)
- This was the most runs in an opener since 2010 (15 vs. Virginia Tech)
- It is the third straight opener with 10 or more runs scored and four of the past five.
- UK was hit by six pitches, two each by Scott Campbell Jr., Tyler Cerny and Ryan Schwartz.
- Cerny now has 47 career HBP.
- OF Jayce Tharnish went 3-for-5 with two runs, a triple and three stolen bases.
- Freshman Lexington native Owen Jenkins started at catcher in his first collegiate game.
- He made an immediate impression with a 106 MPH line drive triple on the second pitch he saw.
- He finished 3-for-5 with a run, two RBI and a triple.
- He also picked off a UNCG runner.
- IF Luke Lawrence went 1-for-5 but it was a big one, hammering a grand slam in an eight-run third inning.
- IF Ethan Hindle and OF Scott Campbell Jr. each had multiple RBI.
- UT Ryan Schwartz reached three times to extend his on base streak to 21 games.
- The anticipated debut in blue for RHP Jaxon Jelkin was electric.
- 0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K, 58 pitches (40 strikes).
- He threw first pitch strikes to 12 of 14 batters.
- He recorded the first seven outs of the game via strikeout.
- He logged multiple strikeouts in all four of his innings.
- He is the first UK pitcher to record 10 or more strikeouts in a game since Nic McCay earned National and SEC Pitcher of the Week honors after punching out 12 at Tennessee in 2025.
- It is the most strikeouts in a UK debut in the Nick Mingione era, topping the eight by Zack Thompson vs. Liberty in 2017.
- RHP Connor Mattison followed up his teammate with seven strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
- Players who made their Kentucky debut: OF Scott Campbell Jr., IF Tyler Cerny, IF Caeden Cloud, RHP Jaxon Jelkin, C/UT Owen Jenkins, RHP Connor Mattison, OF Jayce Tharnish, UT Tagger Tyson and OF Braxton Van Cleave.
ON DECK
Kentucky will play a Valentine’s Day doubleheader at UNC Greensboro with game one beginning at 1 p.m. ET. The second game will begin 45 minutes after the completion of the first contest.
