No. 16 Kentucky Falls in Series Opener at Mississippi State

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 16 Kentucky softball team suffered a 6-2 loss on Friday night at Nusz Park to the Mississippi State Bulldogs to drop the first game of a three-game series. 

Game two will be on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT and shown live on the SEC Network with Courtney Lyle and Leah Dakich on the call. 

Junior outfielder Brooklin Hinz hit her third home run of the season in the top of the fifth inning to climb to within a run after a slow start, but UK would then allow three runs in the bottom of the frame and allow the Bulldogs to pull away late. 

With the loss, Kentucky drops to 34-15 overall on the season and falls back to .500 in the Southeastern Conference at 11-11. With their win on Friday, Mississippi State improves to 35-18 overall and climbs to 9-13 in SEC play this season.

Three. Kentucky allowed three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning after climbing to within a run. 

The key play in the game was in the bottom of the fifth inning as five-consecutive batters for Mississippi State reached base to begin the inning. 

Brooklin Hinz was the key player for Kentucky, hitting her third home run of the season to right field to score the only two runs of the game for the Wildcats. 

In the bottom of the first, Bevia Roberts led off the inning with a single through the left side, and then a out-out RBI double to center by Caroline Seitz scored Roberts from first. MSU 1, UK 0

Back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the fourth inning added in two more runs for the Bulldogs. A lead-off walk turned into a runner on second with one out, and she came around to score on a Morgan Bell double. Right after that, Calyn Adams scored on a double to left to plate a second run. MSU 3, UK 0

In the top of the fifth, Kentucky plated its only two runs of the game on a Brooklin Hinz two-run home run to right field. Rachael Metzger led off the inning with a walk, and pinch runner Sarah Rainwater came around to score on the long ball by Hinz. It was Hinz’s first HR since March 10 against Evansville. MSU 3, UK 2

Mississippi State pulled away in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run inning. The first five batters of the inning all reached safely, and with the bases loaded, Reggie Harrison singled to LF to score the fourth MSU run. A deep SAC fly to center brought home a fifth run, and then Adams was hit by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded to bring home the third  run of the inning. FINAL – Mississippi State 6, No. 16 Kentucky 2

For the latest on the Kentucky softball team, follow @UKSoftball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.