The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Auburn
Pettway, Smith Lead Ole Miss Past No. 13 Auburn
5/16/2003 | Baseball
May 16, 2003
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AUBURN, Ala. - Seth Smith went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Brian Pettway was 2-for-4 with a two-run home run to lead Ole Miss to a 7-4 win over No. 13 Auburn in the opener of a three-game Southeastern Conference series Friday night, in front of 2,844 at Plainsman Park.
The victory was the fifth straight for the Rebels over the Tigers in Auburn as Ole Miss improved to a season-high 12 games over the .500-mark at 33-21. The Rebels also moved past Auburn for sole possession of second place in the SEC Western Division at 17-11. The 17 SEC wins ties the school record set by the 1999 and 2001 teams. LSU, however, clinched the overall SEC and SEC Western Division titles with an 11-3 win at Arkansas.
Auburn dropped to 36-17 overall and 16-12 in the SEC.
The Tigers loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth before freshman left-hander Stephen Head coaxed Tug Hulett to fly out to left to end the game.
Head worked two innings of relief for starter T.J. Beam, allowing one run on two hits and one walk, and struck out one to record his 13th save of the year.
"Auburn's a good team and you're just not going to go out there and get six outs and be done," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "They're a very good hitting team, and they're tough to stop at home."
Beam (8-1) allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk, while striking out four in seven innings to earn his fifth consecutive win. The Rebels also improved to 12-1 in games that Beam starts this season.
"It was another good Friday night performance by T.J.," Bianco said. "He's a warrior on the mound and he's very hard for opposing teams to handle."
After Auburn took a 1-0 lead in the third, the Rebels scored three runs in the fourth. Smith led the inning off with a double to right center, and two batters later, Charlie Waite lofted a triple that landed just fair down the right-field line to score Smith and tie the game at 1-1.
Pettway then followed with a towering two-run home run over the left field monster on a 3-1 pitch from Colby Paxton to give Ole Miss a 3-1 lead. The homer was his team-leading seventh of the season.
Smith would give the Rebels some insurance runs in the later innings. His RBI fielder's choice to score Matt Mossberg in the seventh inning made it 5-3 and he added a two-run double in the ninth to make it 7-3.
Paxton (6-3) suffered the loss as he was charged with five runs, four earned, on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Matt Tolbert also had two hits on the night as the Rebels out-hit the Tigers 10-9.
"We had very good night at the plate," Bianco said. "And not by just getting 10 hits, but we bunched them together and we got a lot of timely hits, especially extra-base hits. Charlie Waite with a two-out triple in the fourth and then Pettway following with the home run. You're not going to get that type of offensive production on a Friday night in the SEC."
Bobby Huddleston and Clete Thomas both had three hits each for Auburn. Thomas hit his second homer of the year with a solo shot in the ninth off Head for the 7-4 final.
The two teams will continue this weekend's three-game series Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., in a game televised by FOX Sports Net South. Freshman left-hander Brae Wright (4-2, 3.25 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Rebels, opposite Auburn sophomore southpaw Arnold Hughey (5-5, 4.34 ERA).
Ole Miss 7, No. 13 Auburn 4 (May 16, 2003 at Auburn, Ala.)----------------------------------------------------------------------Ole Miss 000 310 102 - 7 10 1 (33-21, 17-11 SEC)Auburn 001 101 001 - 4 9 1 (36-17, 16-12 SEC)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Ole Miss - TJ Beam; Stephen Head(8). Auburn - Paxton; Dueitt(7).Win-TJ Beam(8-1) Save-Stephen Head(13) Loss-Paxton(6-3) T-2:37 A-2844HR UM - B. Pettway (7).HR AU - Thomas (2).Game notes:NATIONAL RANKINGS- AUB: #13 SW/ESPN; #14 BA; #15 CB; #18 NCBWAUM ties school record for SEC wins w/17.Rebels have won 5 straight at Auburn.Game: UM0516
