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April 7, 2000
OXFORD, Miss.- Ole Miss pitcher Jeff McAvoy held Auburn to a conference-low three runs as the Rebels defeated the 10th-ranked Tigers, 8-3, tonight at Swayze Field. Ole Miss improved to 20-13 overall and a 6-6 mark in the Southeastern Conference, while Auburn fell to 29-9 and 7-6 in SEC play.
Auburn took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Dominic Rich hit a lead off home run, his sixth of the seaon.
Ole Miss took the lead for good in the sixth, scoring three runs on three hits. The big play in the inning came with two-outs as Auburn pitcher Levale Speigner threw away Lance Jones' chopper back to the plate into right field, scoring Carl Laferty from second and Jude Voltz from first.
Following a Gabe Gross solo homer in the fifth, the Rebels scored two runs in the bottom of the inning, and one in the sixth with two outs.
Auburn picked up its third solo home run of the evening when Mailon Kent hit his sixth home run of the season in the seventh. Ole Miss added two, tow-out insurance runs in the eighth for the final score.
Freshman Levale Speigner (0-2) was credited with the loss after throwing a season high 5.2 innings, allowing seven hits and six runs. Ole Miss' Jeff McAvoy (6-2) earned the victory, allowing just three runs on 11 Auburn hits over 6.1 innings. McAvoy also struck out nine Tiger batters.
Kent improved his season-best hitting streak to 14 games with two hits on the evening, while Gross added four hits. Rich also added two hits for the Tigers.
The three runs scored by the Tigers were their fewest in 13 conference games this season. Auburn also struck out a season-high 11 times.
The Tigers and Rebels will play the second game of the three-game series tomorrow at 1:30 pm CT at Swayze Field. Airtime on the Auburn Network set for 1:15 pm. You can listen to Auburn Baseball live by tuning in to your local Auburn Network affiliate or by visiting our Live Audio section.
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