No. 21 Kentucky baseball (16-2, 1-0 SEC) kicked off its SEC season with a 7-4 win over Alabama (15-4, 0-1 SEC).

It was a slow start to the day for the Wildcats. Justin Lebron opened the first inning with a home run to left-center to give the Crimson Tide an early lead.

Kentucky quickly responded. After a single from Jayce Tharnish, the Wildcats answered with a homer of their own from Ethan Hindle to take the lead.

The Wildcats kept the bats going as Hudson Brown singled to right field before Ryan Schwartz delivered Kentucky’s second home run of the day.

Kentucky continued to extend its lead, scoring at least one run in each inning from the third through the fifth.

Luke Lawrence walked and later stole second. Tyler Cerney then reached on a fielding error and advanced to second, allowing Lawrence to score.

The fourth inning brought more power for the Wildcats as Owen Jenkins launched his first home run of the year.

“It’s been awesome,” Jenkins said. “You know, early in the season, a lot of lineouts, like just hitting it really hard to people, and to see one go over the fence felt really good.”

In the fifth, Lawrence started the inning with a single through the right side. Hindle stayed hot at the plate with a double. Cerny then drove in Lawrence for the second time of the day with a sacrifice bunt to first.

Despite giving up the first-inning homer, Jaxon Jelkin delivered a strong outing for Kentucky, recording five strikeouts, with one in each of the first five innings.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do, is get zero,” Jelkin said. “So anytime that you know you can stack zeros is what you’re trying to do. So it’s an accomplishment. By the time the next inning rolls around, I’m trying to get another zero, that’s just my mindset with all of it.”

The Crimson Tide found some momentum in the sixth. Lebron and Brady Neal both singled before John Lemm connected on a three-run shot.

Leighton Harris came in for Jelkin. After a slow start that included a single from Jason Torres and a walk to Justin Osterhouse, Kentucky escaped the inning with a key double play from Harris and Cerny.

The game quieted down from there, with only one hit between the two teams from the bottom of the sixth through the top of the eighth. Will Marcy, pinch-hitting for Carson Hansen, broke the silence with a single to left.

Jack Bennett came in to close the game for Kentucky and did just that. Despite a double to right field from Fowler, Kentucky sealed the win by retiring Lebron, Alabama’s top bat.

“Yeah, that’s what it was,” head coach Nick Mingione said. “We pitched, we defended, and we got timely hitting at a high level. And that’s what it’s going to take. This is a great Alabama team, obviously, the record shows it. So we’ve got to continue that attack.”

Kentucky will be back in action March 14 at home for Game 2 of a three-game series with Alabama. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET.