With two crucial series looming against SEC West rivals, Mississippi State couldn’t afford a slip-up against one of the Eastern Division’s bottom feeders.

Chris Stratton and Caleb Reed made certain the Bulldogs kept their footing in the wild, wild West.

Stratton allowed two runs in 52⁄3 innings, and Reed went the rest of the way to earn his ninth save as the Bulldogs finished a sweep of Tennessee with a 5-2 victory on Sunday afternoon. The duo combined to allow eight hits and one walk, and struck out 14 batters — nine by Stratton (5-5).

“Chris Stratton did exactly what we needed him to do today — he threw strikes,” Mississippi State coach John Cohen said. “This was the Chris Stratton that we’ve come to know and love. It is good to get him back in form. Caleb Reed was a flat-out warrior on the mound for us in relief again. He pitched his heart out for us today.”

The sweep allowed Mississippi State (29-18, 11-13 Southeastern Conference) to keep pace in a crowded Western Division. MSU is one game out of first place, and tied with Auburn and Ole Miss for second. State plays Ole Miss in a three-game series in Oxford beginning on Thursday, and finishes the regular season at home against LSU May 19-21.

Tennessee, which will not be among the eight teams in the SEC Tournament, fell to 22-23 overall and 5-19 in SEC play.

“This could not have come at a better time for us,” Cohen said. “We’ve won five in a row heading into a very important stretch of the season. We’ve got to keep on a roll.”

Mississippi State took the lead for good in the top of the third. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jaron Shepherd battled back from an 0-2 count to work a walk and bring in the game’s first run. Jonathan Ogden followed with a base hit to left field to plate two runs and make it 3-0.

After Tennessee cut it to 3-2 in the sixth, the Bulldogs scored twice in the seventh to put it away. Shepherd singled in a run, and Ryan Collins drew another bases-loaded walk to make it 5-2.

Cody Freeman and Jarrod Parks had two hits apiece for Mississippi State. Shepherd walked four times and singled once to finish 1-for-1 with two RBIs and two stolen bases.

Khayyan Norfork and Davis Morgan had two hits each for Tennessee, which left 10 runners on base — including two in the ninth.

“I thought we put ourselves in a position to win. I’m proud of the way they played,” Tennessee coach Todd Raleigh said. “I thought we were ready. We just needed that one hit to clear the bases.”