April 12, 1998
Kentucky got out to a 9-8 lead thanks to three home runs and never looked back as the Wildcats held off a late rally by Mississippi State to win 12-9 Sunday at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Miss. UK won two of three from MSU, its first SEC series win of the season.
Josh Paxton (2-3) closed the door on the Bulldogs for the second consecutive game. Paxton allowed only one hit in 5.1 innings, striking out five in the process. Paxton, who picked up the save on Saturday, allowed only one hit in seven innings of relief in the two games. Unlike the first two games of the series, offense dominated rubber match of the series. Mississippi State (23-14, 6-12) took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI single by Brian Wiese. UK (15-22, 5-13) responded in the second inning with two runs. Senior Jason Colemire led off the inning with a solo homer to right field. One out later, designated hitter Mark Murphy hit his second homer of the series to give UK 2-1 lead.
UK’s bats stayed hot in the third inning, knocking MSU starter Chris Reinike out of the game after only 2.2 innings. UK put six runs on the board, all with two outs. Aaron McGlone drew a walk and Josh Loggins reached on an error. Colemire followed with a single to center field, scoring McGlone to give UK a 3-2 lead. Freshman John Wilson cleared the bases with a two-run single. After Brian Compton relieved Reinike, UK’s Andy Bendix delivered a three-run homer to center field to give the Wildcats a six-run lead, 8-2. It was Bendix’s team-leading 10th hom MSU cut the deficit to 8-3 in the bottom of the third with a solo homer by Jon Knott. UK responded with a run in the fourth inning. UK received a scare in the fourth inning when starter Jason Chaney was struck in the wrist by a line drive off the bat of Ryan McGrath. Chaney was forced to leave, giving way to sophomore Ben Shaffar. Chaney allowed six hits and four runs in three innings of work.
The Bulldogs had seven consecutive hits off Shaffar en route to scoring five runs in the fourth inning, cutting the deficit to 9-8. MSU came back in the fifth and threatened to take lead after UK’s Josh Paxton loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batter. Paxton ended the Bulldog threat by striking out Knott to end the inning.
UK added to its lead in the seventh with an RBI double by Loggins and a RBI single by Murphy, giving the Wildcats a 11-8 lead. UK added another run in the ninth after Cheatle had a leadoff double and scored on a McGlone single.
Muphy tied his career-high with three hits. Cheatle, McGlone and Colemire added two hits. The Wildcats left only one runner on base. Reinike (3-4) picked up the loss in 2.2 innings of work. Third baseman Travis Chapman led the Bulldogs with a 4-for-5 day at the plate. UK returns home on Tuesday to face Western Kentucky at 6 p.m.
