Observations: Kentucky has a bad weekend in Starkville

The nature of baseball in the SEC is that most teams will experience the highs and lows of a long season, and Kentucky has been no exception. The Wildcats were amidst their best stretch of the campaign earlier this week. As winners of five out of six — with signature wins over Tennessee and Louisville — it headed into the week looking to solidify their position in the NCAA Tournament.

But a 6-4 loss to Western Kentucky in Bowling Green on Tuesday night and a sweep to Mississippi State has sent the Wildcats on a skid. It’s the third time this season the Wildcats have lost four in a row, and just their first sweep at the hands of an SEC opponent since Vanderbilt in April of 2023.

Kentucky’s record is 25-20 overall and 10-14 in the SEC. Its postseason fate has not yet been determined, but the sweep to Mississippi State is a disappointing development. The baseline level of talent at a program like Mississippi State is always fairly good, but the Bulldogs were just 7-14 in the SEC entering the weekend and had fired head coach Chris Lemonis earlier in the week. Still, Mississippi State blew out Kentucky 14-4 in seven innings in game one on Saturday and delivered a crushing walk-off win in the 11th inning of game two. Needing to salvage at least one game in the series, Kentucky was held to a single run in Sunday’s 6-1 finale loss.

Here are some observations from the weekend: