April 5, 2003
Starkville, Miss. –
Kentucky starter Heath Castle (2-3) went the distance, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits, as the Wildcats (12-18, 1-10 SEC) defeated No. 5 Mississippi State (24-5-1, 9-2 SEC) by an 8-2 score. Castle, who threw 125 pitches in the game, got plenty of help from his offense, which pounded out 12 hits, including a 3-for-3 performance for Caleb Brock. Brock drove in tow runs and scored once, while Caleb Stewart recorded three hits of his own and scored twice.
“Heath Castle really had a lot of fight in him today,” Coach Keith Madison said. “He wanted to finish the game and he was throwing well enough to do that. It’s good to see that kind of performance from Heath.”
Kentucky got three runs on four hits in its half of the fourth inning. Mike Breyman started the stanza with a double and Stewart singled. Jake Kungl then beat out a sacrifice bunt attempt for a single to score Breyman. After a strikeout, Brock was hit by a pitch and Joe Naill delivered a two-run single to left, scoring Stewart and Kungl.
Brock started a second Kentucky rally with two outs in the sixth, doubling to the corner in left field. After Mississippi State starter Alan Johnson hit Naill with a pitch, Casey Gilvin singled to right to plate Brock and Brad Pickrell doubled to left to score Naill and Gilvin, boosting the Wildcat advantage to 8-2, and chasing Johnson, the reigning SEC pitcher of the week, from the mound.
Castle got out of trouble in the bottom of the fourth, inducing Thomas Berkery into a ground ball double play to end the inning after Craig Tatum and Matthew Brinson had each singled to start the inning. He found himself in a jam again in the eighth, but again got a ground ball double play to end the inning.
Brock delivered for Kentucky in the top of the second, singling through the left side to plate the game’s first two runs. Breyman and Stewart, who singled consecutively to open the frame, scored on the play and Kentucky lead, 2-0. State tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third, getting to Castle for two runs on back-to-back two-out hits from Steve Gendron and Brad Corley.
“Now that we’ve gotten that first conference win under our belts, we should play with more confidence and swagger,” Madison said. “It’s good to get that monkey off our back. Now we need to come out tomorrow and string a couple of wins together.”
The two teams will square off in the rubber match of the three game set on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST from Dudy Noble Field in Starkville. Drew Deener will call all the action live on 96.1 FM.
– UK –
