Observations: Kentucky has a bad weekend in Starkville

The Wildcats suffered their first sweep in an SEC series since April 2023.

Photo by Morgan Simmons of UK Athletics

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: