Kentucky Baseball Opens SEC Play With Convincing Sweep of Mississippi State

Kentucky baseball had its foot on the gas entering its first SEC series of the season, as it was riding an 11-game winning streak back into Kentucky Proud Park for a three-game set against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

The Bat Cats were passing test after test with flying colors, granted it was coming against sub-par competition that it won't see on the weekends any longer. A road sweep in Carbondale, Ill. against Southern Illinois two weekends ago gave UK some juice, sending it home ready to stomp the Indiana Hoosiers, which it did, run-ruling the rival, 12-2.

That trend continued over the weekend, as tough-and-rugged at-bats and a rock-solid pitching staff propelled Kentucky to a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs. The Cats scored 35 runs across the three games, sucking the life out of a comeback bid on Friday night, setting up cruise control at the dish for the rest of the weekend.

Game one: Kentucky 6, Mississippi State 5 — F/10
Game two: Kentucky 12, Mississippi State 3
Game three: Kentucky 17, Mississippi State 3 — F/7

Kentucky set the tone in the bottom of the first inning, as it pushed four runs across against Miss State ace and scintillating switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, who had given up just one earned run all season prior to Friday night.

Cijntje walked one and hit two batters, while left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt kicked off a big series with a two-run single to right field. That was one of just five hits the Cats had in game one, though Cijntje continued to hand out free passes, walking five batters across five innings of work.

MSU clawed back to take the lead as it got to UK starter Darren Williams in the fifth, forcing a pitching change with the bases loaded. Third baseman Jase Felker didn't help out lefty reliever Evan Byers, as a throwing error cut the Cats' lead to 4-3, before right fielder Kellum Clark delivered a two-run single.

RHP Mason Moore then took the mound for Kentucky and delivered 4.1 innings of two-hot baseball that saw seven strikeouts and three walks. His dominance was a precursor for three days of lights-out pitching from the Wildcat bullpen.

An RBI-single from shortstop Grant Smith tied things up for UK in the bottom of the eighth, setting up a wild finish.

Moore went back out to start the ninth, but allowed a walk and a single with two down in the frame. He rolled a grounder to Smith at SS, but an error allowed the bases to fill up, leading to a pitching change from pitching coach Dan Roszel.

He opted for hard-throwing righty Seth Chavez, who got shortstop Lane Forsythe to ground out, ending the inning. Kentucky went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half, sending the game to extras.

Chavez strutted out to the mound and hurled three strikeouts, heating up the cold night inside KPP. First baseman Hunter Gilliam singled to lead the bottom of the 10th of and was then bunted to second by Waldschmidt.

MSU pitcher Nate Dohm crumbled, throwing two wild pitches, allowing Gilliam to soar home and swipe a huge series-opening win for UK.

The results of games two and three would never be in doubt. Saturday's contest saw left-hander Tyler Bosma pitch 4.2 innings, where he allowed three runs on four hits and three walks.

In relief, veteran righty Ryan Hagenow continued his stellar start to the season, throwing 4.1 innings of one-hit ball, carving up the Bulldog batters for five strikeouts. Kentucky's bats then opened up a can, pushing five runs across in the fifth, then a pair in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh.

Eight Cats got hits, headlined by a three-run bomb from Gilliam to tie the game at 3-3 in the fourth. Right fielder James McCoy belted his first career homer of the year to cap off a dominant 12-3 victory, winning the series in two days.

MSU couldn't have fought off the sweep if it tried. Two RBI walks and a horrid throwing error allowed Kentucky to mount another 4-0 lead in the first inning.

Kentucky starter Zack Lee walked five and gave up five hits in 3.1 IP, but again the bullpen was there to clean things up, as RHP Austin Strickland threw two scoreless, while Ryder Giles and Zach Hise combined for 1.2 hitless innings.

Designated hitter Reuben Church walloped his first home run of the season in the fourth. Jackson Gray headlined a four-hit game with a two-RBI triple. Hell broke loose in the batters box in the bottom of the sixth, as home runs by Waldschmidt and Gilliam sandwiched doubles from Church and Gray, equaling an eight-run KO punch.

Kentucky run-ruled the Bulldogs, 17-3, extending its winning streak to 14 games in eye-popping fashion.

Three players are hitting .400 or better, headlined by second baseman Émilien Pitre, who is quietly at .429 and a 1.144 OPS. Gilliam now has five home runs and a team-best 33 RBIs.

Hagenow's ERA remains spotless in 12.1 IP, as does Chavez's in 6 IP. Moore and Strickland also continue to be reliable arms for Mingione and Roszel.

Kentucky continues to find ways to win games, and now has an SEC sweep under its belt. It'll look for a 15th straight win on Tuesday, as it hosts Eastern Kentucky for one game before going on the road for three against Alabama.

First pitch between the Cats and Colonels is set for 6:30 p.m. EST. Below are game notes from Kentucky's latest sweep, provided by UK Athletics:

Kentucky has won 14 consecutive games.
This is UK’s first SEC sweep since March 2021 at Auburn.
UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his seventh season at the helm and now owns a 194-131 career record.

UK is 80-33 in the month of March under Coach Mingione.
UK is undefeated this March.

UK pitchers have struck out 190 through 20 games.
UK pitchers have limited opponents to three or fewer runs in 15 of 20 games.
UK has scored in 319 of 325 games under Coach Mingione.
UK has drawn 22 walks and six hit by pitch in the series
UK stole 10 bases in the series. The Cats were 10-for-10.
UK scored four runs in both the first and fifth innings and eight in the sixth, now 18 times it has done that this season it has scored four or more runs in an inning.
UK has scored 68 runs in the past 38 innings.
UK outscored State 35-11 in the series.
UK had two four-run first innings in the series.

First baseman Hunter Gilliam has started 133 consecutive games at the collegiate level.

He has reached safely in all 20 games this season and owns a 14-game hit streak.
He hit a home run in the sixth inning. He homered in three of four games this week.

Infielder Grant Smith has started all 136 games of his collegiate career.
Outfielder Jackson Gray went 4-for-5 with three runs, three RBI, a triple and a double.

He has three triples this season, tying him with Marcus Carson (2017) and Riley Mahan (2017) for the most in a single-season under Mingione.

Infielder Emilien Pitre has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games.
Infielder Reuben Church clubbed his first home run of the season.
Outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt went 2-for-5 with two runs, three RBI, a triple and a home run.

He has homered each of the past two Sundays.

Pitcher Ryder Giles earned his first win at Kentucky with a massive strikeout to strand the bases loaded in the fourth in a 4-3 ballgame.

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