Shelby homer helps Kentucky baseball battle through rain to beat Dayton 4-3

Junior JaVon Shelby righted his recent hitting woes with a solo home run and sophomore right-handed pitcher Zach Streker picked up his third win of the season as the No. 22 Kentucky baseball team beat Dayton 4-3 in a marathon game Tuesday evening at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

Shelby opened the bottom of the second by hitting his first home run since March 20. The Lexington native had struggled at the plate before hitting his seventh homer of the season.

Strecker earned the win after two innings pitched with a strikeout, two hits and an unearned run. Strecker’s three wins this season match his total throughout the first three years of his career.

True freshman Sean Hjelle earned his seventh save of the season after an 11-pitch performance and securing the final out of the eighth inning.

The game went seven and a half innings over the course of almost five hours, due in large part to two rain delays lasting over a combined two hours. Inclement weather eventually ended the game at 10:30 p.m.

Kentucky inproved to 25-15 overall and is 10-8 in the Southeastern Conference. Dayton is 14-28, with a 5-10 record in Atlantic 10 play.

Kentucky built a 4-0 lead through two innings then held on through the rainy night. Dayton scored single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings but could get no closer.

UK returns to its home field Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., for a non-conference game against Miami (Ohio)

The game can be seen online only on SEC Network Plus. It will also be broadcast on WLAP-AM 630.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 7:31 AM with the headline "Shelby homer helps Kentucky baseball battle through rain to beat Dayton 4-3."