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Kentucky's Michael Williams (35) slides safely into third after a fly ball as Mississippi State's Daryl Norris awaits the throw in the eighth inning of an NCAA college baseball game during the Southeastern Conference tournament in Hoover, Ala., Thursday, May 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
The victory gives Kentucky (43-15) a bye until Saturday. Mississippi State (36-22) will play LSU on Friday in an elimination game.
The Bulldogs had three hits in the first inning, including a two-out RBI single by Trey Porter, but managed only one more hit the rest of the game.
Jerad Grundy (5-3) struck out nine over six innings in picking up the victory. Alex Phillips pitched three hitless innings for his seventh save.
Kendall Graveman (4-4) took the loss, giving up six hits and two runs in only 2-1/3 innings.
Michael Williams had three hits for Kentucky and A.J. Reed was 2-for-4 with two RBI.
MSU's Hunter Renfroe went 2-for-4, while the rest of the team was 2-for-26.
Click here for more at Inside Mississippi State Sports Blog with Brad Locke.
Read more in Friday's NEMS Daily Journal newspaper.