No. 8 Mississippi State sweeps Kentucky with 4-3 win

STARKVILLE, Miss. — With the tying run at second, Mississippi State junior pitcher Parker Stinnett struck out redshirt junior Cam Hill to give the No. 8 Bulldogs a 4-3 win over Kentucky on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.

With the win, the Bulldogs complete the series sweep and improve to 20-7 (5-4 SEC). The Wildcats fall to 18-7 (5-4 SEC).

MSU outhit Kentucky by a 7-6 margin and was led by sophomore Logan Tanner with two hits, two runs and one RBI. Senior Tanner Allen, junior Luke Hancock and freshman Lane Forsythe each recorded one hit and one RBI apiece.

Freshman starting pitcher Jackson Fristoe (3-2) earned the win for the Bulldogs after allowing two runs and three hits in five innings pitched. He fanned eight batters and walked four.

Junior Preston Johnson then tossed two innings, allowing one run on two hits with two strikeouts. After Johnson gave up a single to start the eighth, senior Houston Harding, graduate student Spencer Price and junior Cam Tullar each faced one batter and preserved a one-run lead for MSU.

Stinnett earned his first save of the season by pitching a scoreless ninth inning with one strikeout and one walk.

Kentucky sophomore starting pitcher Zack Lee (2-2) was charged with the loss after allowing four runs on six hits with one strikeout in 3 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched.

In the bottom of the first, senior Rowdey Jordan hit a high pop fly to center field for a triple. Allen plated him with a sacrifice fly to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats tied things up in the top of the second inning. Kentucky senior Oraj Anu hit a ball along the left-field line and Forsythe lost the ball in the sun, allowing Anu to make it to second base. Sophomore Chase Estep’s single up the middle scored him.

In the bottom half of the second, Hancock hit a leadoff home run to right field to make it 2-1. Tanner followed with a double on a pop fly that was lost in the sun. A groundout moved him to third before Forsythe hit an RBI single through the left side to make it 3-1.

Tanner’s leadoff home run to right field in the bottom of the fourth inning gave the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead.

After two strikeouts by Fristoe began the top of the fifth inning, Hill drew a walk. Junior Austin Schultz then doubled to right-center to make it a 4-2 ballgame.

In the top of the eighth inning, Schultz hit a leadoff single through the left side. Graduate student T.J. Collett followed with a single down the right-field line to put runners on the corners. A fielder’s choice grounder followed before Kentucky executed a double steal. MSU picked the runner off at first, but Schultz scored from third to make it 4-3.

In the top of the ninth inning, freshman Reuben Church reached on a fielding error. Estep then reached on a fielder’s choice before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Stinnett walked the next batter before ending the threat with a game-ending strikeout.

The Bulldogs will return to the diamond Tuesday when they host the Southern Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. CT at Dudy Noble Field. The game will be streaming on SEC Network+.