Auburn Rallies to Defeat Alabama Baseball, 7-6
8/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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*Auburn (27-7, 9-3 SEC) claimed a one-run win in the rubber game of the three game series, beating Alabama (21-10, 6-6 SEC) to claim the gut-wrenching series between these two in-state rivals.
*Auburn erased a 6-3 deficit by scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for their third straight home series win over Alabama. Bobby Huddleston's two-run double of losing pitcher and Auburn native Allen Ponder (2-3) tied the game. Huddleston scored the winning run in the seventh inning when Clete Thomas was called safe on a very close play at first base on a potential ending-double play at first base.
*Auburn's Levale Speigner (7-0) was the winning pitcher tossing three perfect innings of relief, with one strikeout. Steven Register worked a scoreless ninth for his league-leading 10th save.
*The Crimson Tide has now lost three straight SEC series for the first time since 2001 when losing three in a row at Tennessee, at Auburn and LSU.
*Alabama has completed a tough stretch in its schedule as the last nine SEC games have come against Top 20 teams and six of those games have been on the road. Alabama went 3-6 (.333) in those nine games, winning one game each against No. 21 Florida, No. 12 LSU and No. 6 Auburn.
*Alabama is 4-7 (.364) against Top 30 clubs this season and is still the only team to beat No. 1 ranked Rice (32-1), winners of 29 straight games. The 29-game winning streak by the Owls is five off the NCAA record.
*Following Sunday's loss at Auburn, Alabama is now 5-5 (.500) in one-run games this season. The Crimson Tide has lost three straight one-run games on Sunday in SEC play. Overall, Alabama has played four one-run games in SEC play.
*Senior Beau Hearod hit a two-run home run in the third inning off Colby Paxton to tie the game at 2-2. Hearod continues to lead the SEC with a career-high 13 home runs and 51 RBI in 32 games.. The two-run home run was Hearod's second game-tying home run in as many days. The Jennings, La., native tied the game at 1-1 with a leadoff home run in the second inning in Saturday's 3-2 win for the Crimson Tide.
*Freshman outfielder Brandon Avalos extended his hitting streak to eight games with a two-out double in the second inning.
*Speaking of the outfield, their play on Sunday was less than stellar, as the trio committed two errors and forced coach Jim Wells into several position changes during the early innings of the game.
*Senior Travis Garner started the game in center field, but moved to right in the second inning after a ball fell in front of him for a base hit in the first inning. Avalos started the game in right, moved to center in the second and then to left field in the third, where he finished the game. Avalos made one error in both center field (dropped fly ball) and left field (throwing error). Senior Grant Redding began the game in left field and moved to center in the third inning.
*Alabama sent nine men to the plate in the fifth inning, scoring four runs on five hits to take a 6-3 lead. Burns led of the inning with his second home run of the season over the 35-foot monster in left field. Garner singled to left and Rice drilled a two-run home run to right field, his sixth of the year. Rice's home run chased AU starter Colby Paxton, who allowed five runs in six hits in four innings. He also gave up three home runs. Welch followed with a single, Pavkovich was hit by a pitch and Redding lined a single to left, scoring Welch with the three-run lead.
*Alabama managed only two hits the remainder of the game. Burns collected his second hit of the game with a leadoff single in the sixth and was stranded at third base. Hearod picked up his second hit of the game with a two-out single in the ninth.
*Alabama leaves Auburn and heads to Shreveport, La., where it will spend the next three days of its 2003 Spring Break. The Crimson Tide will play Northwestern State in Natichtoches, La. at 7 p.m. Tuesday night and then plays Centenary on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Shreveport.
*Coach Wells spent five years at Northwestern State and is the school's all-time winningest coach, leading the Demons to three Southland Conference titles from 1990-95. Prior to the game, Wells will have his No. 17 retired by his former school.
*NSU is currently coached by former Wells and Alabama assistant coach Mitch Gaspard, who spent the 1995-2001 seasons with the Crimson Tide.
*Alabama returns home next weekend to host the Kentucky Wildcats in a three-game series with Kentucky.
