Kentucky Defeats No. 20 Mississippi State in Series Opener
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The Wildcats picked up their first SEC win of the season on Friday night with a resounding 10-2 victory over Mississippi State thanks to a solid pitching performance by sophomore Zack Brown and a seven-run second inning.
After the Bulldogs capitalized on two errors to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, the Cats responded with a huge rally of their own. Riley Mahan drove in Storm Wilson on a sac fly in the bottom of the second for the team's first run and the onslaught began as UK plated seven runs on six hits in the inning. The Cats added one run in the fourth after Ka'ai Tom singled through the right side, stole second, and scored on a double down the left field line by JaVon Shelby. Kyle Barrett cranked his first homer of the year, a solo shot in the eighth, to secure the W.
Brown worked 7.1 innings allowing just four hits and one earned run while the offense attacked early and often, gathering 14 hits on the night. Nine Wildcats collected hits, including multi-hit performances from Evan White, Tom, Shelby, and Wilson. Also of note, John Cohen, former Kentucky head coach and current Mississippi State head coach, was ejected in the fourth inning. The win gave Kentucky its second win over a top-20 ranked team on the season and the 50th such win in the Gary Henderson coaching era.
The second game of the weekend series is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Cliff Hagan Stadium and can be viewed live on SEC Network+.
@STHowle
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