No. 22 Kentucky softball suffers 6-2 loss against Mississippi State

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Travis Fannon

Kentucky Wildcats outfielder Jenna Blanton (10) bunts during the No. 16 Kentucky vs. No. 6 Tennessee softball game on Sunday, April 16, 2023, at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky lost 15-1. Photo by Travis Fannon | Staff

Kalie Henderson, Contributor

No. 22 Kentucky softball fell short while facing Mississippi State on Friday night at Nusz Park. 

Driving in her third run in Kentucky’s last four games, Kennedy Sullivan topped off the start of the first inning by advancing to third with an RBI single to left field.

Kentucky gave up two back-to-back sacrifice flies from the Bulldogs at the bottom of the second inning.

MSU scored at the bottom of the third with a three-run home run to left field, putting the Wildcats in a bad position. 

Fighting for a come back, Meeko Harrison put on a run with a sac fly that scored Jenna Blanton in the sixth, making the score 6-2 for Mississippi State. 

Mississippi State finished off the game by scoring on a defensive error with and no runs added in the seventh. 

The win marked the Bulldogs’ first win in Southeastern Conference play since opening weekend, putting MSU at 25-22 and 4-14 in league play.

The defeat saw Kentucky stand at 28-16-1 with an 8-11 record in conference. 

To accommodate potential incoming weather, game two of the series will be moved up by two hours in the Starkville, Mississippi, area. The game will now begin at 3 p.m. EST on the SEC Network and the ESPN app.