Kentucky Swept by Mississippi State in Starkville
STARKVILLE, Miss. – For the first time in over 10 years, the Kentucky Softball team was swept by Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon, surrendering four home runs in a 7-4 loss.
Kentucky for the third time in as many games scored first, but Mississippi State hit four home runs with one coming in the bottom of the first, bottom of the third, fifth and a dagger in the sixth that took a one-run MSU lead and ballooned it to a three-run lead.
Mississippi State did not have a runner reach second base in the entire game and had zero at bats all day long with a runner in scoring position, but the four long balls proved enough as the Bulldogs clinched NCAA Tournament eligibility with its third-straight win over Kentucky.
With the loss, Kentucky falls to 28-18-1 and is a season-low five games under the .500 mark in Southeastern Conference play at 8-13. UK has lost eight of its last 10 SEC games. Mississippi State is now 6-14 in the SEC with sweeps over USC and UK, and sports a 27-22 overall record.
Kentucky will close the regular season at John Cropp Stadium next weekend against No. 12 Florida. Senior Day ceremonies will be Saturday afternoon prior to the game.
Key Play
Kayla Kowalik launched her 70th hit of the season into the left-center gap in the top of the sixth inning to close the gap from a three-run lead to just one run as it scored two UK baserunners.
Key Player
The key player in Sunday’s game was Kowalik, who went two-for-four with three RBI.
Key Stat
- This was MSU’s second sweep of the season.
Run Recap
After Erin Coffel led off the game with a double, Kayla Kowalik singled up the middle to score her. UK 1, MSU 0
A solo HR in the bottom of the first inning tied the game. UK 1, MSU 1
In the bottom of the third, a two-run, two-out HR gave MSU the lead. MSU 3, UK 1
A wild pitch scored Taylor Ebbs from third base in the top of the fifth inning. MSU 3, UK 2
A one-out home run in the bottom of the fifth gave MSU the 5-2 lead. MSU 5, UK 2
Kentucky scored twice in the top of the sixth on Kayla Kowalik’s two-RBI double. MSU 5, UK 4
MSU hit a two-run HR with two outs in the top of the seventh. FINAL – Miss. St. 7, Kentucky 4
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