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#12 Kentucky Pitching Stymies #21 Bulldogs In SEC Tourney, 5-1
Sixth-seeded MSU (36-22) will face top-seeded LSU (43-15) in a 3 p.m. elimination game Friday. That contest will be televised regionally by Comcast Sports Southeast. LSU defeated Ole Miss 11-2 in another tournament elimination game Thursday.
MSU swept all three games from Kentucky in a conference series last weekend in Starkville. The Bulldogs could not extend the luck Thursday afternoon. Kentucky erased an early deficit with two runs in the third inning and was not headed.
The Bulldogs struck first with a single run in the first inning. Adam Frazier led off the game with a single. After a strikeout, Frazier took third base on a single by Hunter Renfrew. An RBI-single by Trey Porter placed MSU on top.
After those three first-inning hits, the Bulldogs managed one hit the rest of the way.
Kentucky grabbed the lead in the third inning with two runs. Back-to-back singles by Thomas McCarthy and Luke Mailed started the inning. After a lineout, Michael Williams hit a game-tying single.
The Bulldogs then lifted Kendall Graveman (4-4) and turned to Luis Pollorena in relief. A sacrifice-fly by J.T. Riddle gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
Kentucky expanded the lead with a single score in the fifth inning and two more scores in the ninth inning.
MSU finished with four hits, including multiple hits by Hunter Renfroe.
UK finished with 12 hits. Thomas McCarthy matched an SEC Tournament record with three doubles and had four hits. Williams added three hits, while Maile and A.J. Reed each had two hits.
Jerad Grundy (5-3) earned the win with six innings of four-hit baseball. Grundy allowed one earned run, with nine strikeouts and two walks. Alex Phillips faced one batter past the minimum to earn his seventh save.
