In what may be his final start at Cliff Hagan Stadium, Kentucky junior Alex Meyer threw 6 1/3 mostly effective innings. Either way, it was enough for Kentucky to beat Georgia, 7-4, on Friday to open the Cats’ final home SEC series of 2011.

Kentucky pitcher Alex Meyer | File photo

Meyer (6-5) danced around the strike zone but it all worked out for the most part. Only 69 of his 120 pitches were strikes but he only issued four walks. Of the 30 batters he faced, nine reached a three-ball count.

But all four of his hits given up were singles and few were hit hard.

He left the bases loaded with one out in the seventh. Reliever Alex Phillips allowed one runner to score on a sacrifice fly but the other two were stranded. Meyer finished giving up seven hits and three runs (all earned) with five strikeouts and one hit batsman. About 20 scouts were in attendance, UK sports information director Brent Ingram said; most left after Meyer was replaced.

“I thought Alex was outstanding once again,” UK head coach Gary Henderson said. “He got out of several jams. He didn’t give up hardly any balls hit hard — I think they only really squared up on two balls on him. The hits they did get were ground balls that got through. I was really pleased with his effort.”

Phillips pitched the rest of the way, giving up four hits and one run in 2 2/3 innings.

The Cats gave the 6-9 right-hander plenty to work with after a two-out rally in the first inning. Neiko Johnson led off with a walk but Taylor Black, batting second, hit into a an easy 4-6-3 double play. But the next six batters reached base and four came around to score on RBI singles by Michael Williams and Luke Maile, and a J.T. Riddle two-RBI single.

With a four-run cushion heading into the second, Meyer only allowed eight more baserunners over his final 5 1/3 innings.

“I felt all right,” Meyer said. “I felt really good for the first three innings then I started feeling tired. I don’t know if it was the heat or what, but I felt good enough to go out there and get a win. They took a lot of pressure off of me. Obviously I don’t want to take my foot off the gas but it made me feel good about where we were as a team. It let me play loose with that breathing room.”

Meyer said he hasn’t put a lot of thought into whether Friday would be his final home game at Kentucky — he still has one more road start at Florida next Friday and even still, Meyer said he has been concentrating on Friday’s start for the past week.

The Greensburg, Ind., native said a lot of family members were in town for the game. “Just about everyone on my mom’s side,” he said.

Henderson said he hadn’t put “any thought at all” into the possibility of it being Meyer’s last home start. “I’m just worried about Saturday,” he said.

Meyer was reportedly offered over $2 million to sign as a 20th-round draft pick out of high school by the Boston Red Sox. At that point in time, no draft pick beyond the third round had ever been offered that much. He declined and opted to come to Kentucky.

In an interview before Meyer’s freshman season, Henderson made a passing comment about Meyer contributing for three years instead of four. When he was asked why he said three years instead of four, Henderson’s response in 2009: “I think it’s pretty obvious.”

With about 20 radar guns pointing at him Friday, Meyer pitched well enough to maintain his first-round reputation. It won’t be known if it’s his final home start until after the June draft, so Meyer will have a while to dwell on the decision.

“It crossed my mind,” Meyer said. “It’s something you think about but I haven’t sat down to talk about it with my family. It’s going to take a while to figure out the decision but it’s definitely crossed my mind. If it is (my last home start), it’s hard to believe.”