LEXINGTON – The seventh-ranked Kentucky baseball clinched the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division championship on Sunday with a 10-9 win over No. 19 Mississippi State on an overcast Sunday afternoon in front of 1,812 spectators at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
It is the first time the Wildcats have won a division title since 1976 and UK moved within one victory of its first SEC Championship in school history. Kentucky stayed red-hot and has now won eight straight games and 15 of its last 16, including 12 of their last 13 SEC games.
The offense did most of the work, cranking out three home runs to give the team 11 for the series. John Shelby and Ryan Strieby each homered for the third straight game. Shaun Lehmann had a monster game from the nine-spot in the order, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, three runs scored and two stolen bases.
Chris Rusin earned the win for Kentucky after entering in relief of SEC wins leader Greg Dombrowski, who pitched the first four inning. Rusin worked 1 1/3 innings to improve to 5-0 on the season. Kentucky used three relievers to seal the win, throwing Troy Ragle, Brock Baber and Andrew Albers.
Albers recorded the final six outs and tallied his sixth save of the season. Albers has won or saved his the last seven games he has appeared. The six saves are tied for sixth best in UK single-season history.
Kentucky returns to action Monday at 6:30 p.m. EDT when they face off with the Belmont Bruins in the regular season home finale.
Mississippi State got the scoring started in the second, when Joseph Hunter reached on a single. Andy Rice drove in Hunter to give the Bulldogs an early 1-0 advantage.
Kentucky answered by plating two runs in the bottom half of the first on opportunistic base running and hitting. Shelby got the inning started drawing a walk and advancing to third on a stolen base and a Ryan Wilkes sacrifice bunt. Shelby and Billy Grace, who also reached on a walk, scored on a Shaun Lehmann RBI single to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. The inning was not over, as Bulldog starter Chad Crosswhite walked Sean Coughlin to load the bases and one batter later Ryan Strieby walked to force Lehmann home to push the advantage to 3-1.
The Bulldog?s tacked on three runs in the third, as catcher Edward Easley drove in Jeffrey Rea with a RBI double. Brian LaNinfa followed with a home run over the left center-field fence, scoring Rea and giving the Bulldogs a 4-3 lead.
Shelby struck in the third with a leadoff home run to knot the game at 4-4. Shelby?s shot marked his 16th round-tripper of the season and briefly tied Strieby for the team lead. Shelby tore up the Bulldog?s pitching staff the whole series, ripping three solo home runs and a double while driving in seven.
The Wildcats capitalized on a Thomas Berkery error that scored Wilkes and Lehmann to give Kentucky a 6-4 lead. The Wildcats never trailed again.
Mississippi State loaded the bases with nobody out, but was only able to push one run across. Rea came around to score to cut the UK lead to 6-5, but it came at the expense of a spectacular double-play turned by Shelby. He went behind the bag on Brian LaNinfa?s grounder, stepped on second and made the throw across the diamond while jumping towards left field.
Kentucky answered in the fifth with two more runs. Billy Grace got the inning started with a single. After the second Wilkes sacrifice of the game and a Lehmann single, Grace moved around to third. Lehmann then stole second and catcher Edward Easley?s throw ended up in centerfield, allowing Grace to score to stretch the lead to 7-5. Lehmann stole third and later scored on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs narrowed the UK lead to 8-7 in the sixth. Center-fielder Joseph Hunter, who reached on a single, was driven in by a one-bagger Jeff Butts. Rea also contributed to the Bulldog rally, scoring Michael Rutledge for the second run of the inning.
Strieby answered the Bulldog rally in the home half of the inning, blasting a towering solo home run over the scoreboard in right field. With the shot, he regained the team lead for home runs from Shelby with his 17th of the season.
It was the fifth time this season that Shelby homered in a game to tie Strieby for the team lead only to have Strieby homer later in the game.
The Wildcats tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Sean Coughlin was hit by a pitch and pinch-runner Mike Brown later scored on an RBI single from Shelby.
Mississippi State went down swinging in an attempt to avoid the sweep plating two runs in the top of the ninth to cut the UK lead to the final margin 10-9. Easley and LaNinfa, who both reached on singles, scored on an Andy Rice single.
Game Notes
With the win, Kentucky clinches a share of its first SEC Eastern Division championship since 1976 ? Kentucky has now won 15 of its last 16 games including 12 of its last 13 in SEC play ? Kentucky is riding a eight-game win streak ? UK?s seven SEC series wins marks a new school record ? Kentucky?s 19 SEC victories is a school record ? UK?s 40 overall wins is the second most in school history and is now just one win shy of the school record 41 wins set during the 1991 campaign ? Kentucky?s 12-win improvement in SEC games is second best in league history ? Kentucky has now won 12 consecutive home contests and compiled a school-record 27-4 record at Cliff Hagan Stadium this season ? Kentucky has won six straight home series over ranked foes ? John Shelby hit his 16th home run of the season to lead off the third ? Kentucky?s 11 home runs in the series marks a series season high ? Ryan Strieby hit his 17th home run of the season ? Andrew Albers earned his sixth save of the season, which places him tied for fifth in school history ? Albers has won or saved the last seven ball games he has appeared.
