February 11, 2000
AUBURN BASEBALL DROPS FURMAN BY MERCY RULE, 19-7
AUBURN-Auburn junior Mailon Kent hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of
the seventh inning as No. 11 Auburn defeated Furman, 19-7, by the mercy rule.
The Tigers, which scored in every inning, improved to 5-0 on the season, while
Furman dropped to 2-3. "Today was a day where our offense and defense carried
us," head coach Hal Baird said.
After Auburn opened with four runs in the bottom of the first inning, Furman
countered with four in the top of the second inning behind an Adam Etherington
two-run homer. Auburn scored two runs in the bottom of the second and didn't
trail the remainder of the game.
Kent's grand slam, the first of his career, was the first by a Tiger since
Casey Dunn's at Alabama on May 9, 1998. His five RBI were a career high.
Freshman IF Chris Beaird hit his first career home run in the third inning,
while teammate Dominic Rich hit his fourth long ball of the season in the fifth
inning.
All nine of Auburn's starters had at least one base hit on the afternoon.
Kent, Beaird, Gabe Gross, Todd Faulkner, and Greg Brazier had two hits each.
Gliemmo kept his career-best 19-game hitting streak alive with a double in the
first inning
The 19 runs marked the third time in the last four games that the Tigers have
scored 10 or more runs in a game. Through five games, Auburn is averaging 14
runs and 14 hits a game.
Chris Bootcheck (1-0) picked up his first win of the season, while the Paladins'
Rusty Putnam dropped to 1-1. Bootcheck pitched five innings, allowing seven
hits, five earned runs, two walks and striking out four.
Auburn finished the game with 15 base hits, while Furman finished with nine.
The Paladin's committed two errors.
Auburn and Furman will play the second of a three-game set tomorrow at 2 p.m.
in Plainsman Park.
Former Auburn standout and Oakland Athletics pitcher Tim Hudson will throw out the first pitch.