AUBURN, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team scored 14 runs in its final three frames and left-hander Andy Arguelles turned in his first career quality start to defeat Auburn 14-3 Tuesday at Plainsman Park.

Arguelles (1-0) struck out a career-high five batters against two walks in a career-high six innings pitched, and allowed three runs on five hits to earn his first career win. Auburn right-hander Christian Camacho (0-1) allowed two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts and one walk in the loss.

"Tonight was Andy's second start against a very good hitting team," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "He hit 92 (mph) on his 94th pitch. I think it was the one-week difference for him. Last week, it was his first career start and he was probably a little amped up. I think he learned the right gear to start the game in and maintained that. He showed maturity beyond his years and a lot of poise; he was fantastic from start to finish. I couldn't be more proud of that kid. He has been unbelievable from the first day he stepped foot on campus as far as who he is as a person and how he works. Work gets rewarded, and he was rewarded tonight and he rewarded our team with a victory."

Tuesday's game was called after seven innings due to inclement weather, giving the Jaguars their third straight win over Auburn.

Eddie Paparella broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth with a leadoff home run – his second of the season – down the left field line for a 1-0 Jaguar advantage. USA loaded the bases with two outs later in the inning following a two-out walk by Drew LaBounty. Paul Russo then delivered a two-out, two-run single back up the middle for a 3-0 USA lead. Travis Swaggerty followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to extend the Jaguar lead to 4-0. Wells Davis then drew a walk to load the bases for the second time in the inning before a walk by Paparella forced home Russo for a 5-0 USA advantage. Brendan Donovan followed with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to extend the Jaguar lead to 6-0.

"Our guys can hit; we have the potential to be a good offense," Calvi said. "Eddie Paparella, being an older guy and the leader and worker that he is, stepped in there and broke the ice with a ball over the wall. I thought we had some listless at-bats leading up to that, but Eddie turned the tide. Eddie's approach tonight was as important as Arguelles' in the overall grand scheme of things. In baseball, you have to go and get the game and not let the game come to you all the time. Sometimes the game comes to you and sometimes it doesn't and you have to go get it. That's what we have to do a better job of, and that's what we did tonight. Hopefully there was a little bit of a mind shift moving forward, because we have a chance to be a good offense and a good team."

South Alabama added to its lead a half-inning later with five runs in the top of the sixth. Will Luft led off the inning with a walk, and moved to second on a bunt single down the first-base line from Dylan Hardy. A sacrifice bunt by LaBounty advanced both runners into scoring position with one out before Russo reached on a hit by pitch to load the bases with one out. Swaggerty then delivered a two-run double down the right field line to push the USA lead to 8-0. Paparella followed with a two-run single to left field to extend the Jaguar lead to 10-0. Jared Barnes drove in the 11th Jag run of the contest with a two-out RBI single to left field later in the inning.

Auburn (9-4) scored its first run of the game on a two-out RBI single back up the middle by Dylan Ingram to cut the Jaguar lead to 11-1. A two-run double by Josh Anthony one batter later cut the Tiger deficit to 11-3. 

USA answered with a run in the top of the seventh on a pinch-hit RBI single to right field by Hunter Stokes for a 12-3 lead. An RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Swaggerty allowed LaBounty to score one batter later for a 13-3 advantage. Paparella followed with an RBI single to right-center field to score Swaggerty with the game's final run.

Swaggerty set new career highs in hits and RBI, finishing 4-for-5 with a double, four RBI and three runs scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Paparella went 3-for-4 with a home run, five RBI and one run scored, while Barnes added two hits, one RBI and one run scored. Russo finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Anthony went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI to lead the Tigers offensively.

USA will return to action this weekend when it travels to Starkville, Miss., to compete in a round-robin tournament with Mississippi State and Columbia.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Dugout Club, the baseball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/sports/2013/3/13/Dugout%20Club.aspx?id=21