AUBURN, Ala. ? Auburn plated nine runs in the first two innings and held off a late rally to defeat the University of South Alabama 12-7 Wednesday night at Plainsman Park.

The Jags (15-20) took an early lead for the fifth straight game, as Clint Reynolds and Zach Grichor hit back-to-back single and Adam Heisler gave USA a 1-0 lead with a groundout. However, the lead was short-lived.

Three Auburn (24-13) players homered in the bottom half of the first inning. USA starting pitcher Brandon Brown allowed the first two, then handed the ball to Michael Raia, who allowed a three-run homer to Brian Fletcher.

Jarrett Bailey then came out of the bullpen and escaped a two-on-no-out jam with a popout and a groundball double play, but the Tigers led 6-1 after one frame.

Joseph Sanders led off the second with a double and came home on a wild pitch before Fletcher delivered another homer, this time a two-run blast, giving Auburn a 9-1 advantage that would prove to be insurmountable.

Derek O'Reilly led off the third with an infield single, Reynolds followed with a double and consecutive groundouts brought them both home to cut the deficit to 9-3.

Bailey worked a perfect third inning, and Sean Laird led off the fourth with a solo shot to center field to further trim the Tigers’ lead to 9-4. Bailey again held the Tigers scoreless in the fourth, but Fletcher connected for his third home run of the game leading off the bottom of the fifth.

Fletched finished the game 4-for-4 with six RBI and four runs scored. The Jags were led at the plate by Reynolds, who went 3-for-6 and scored twice, and O’Reilly who tied a career high with three hits in five trips to the plate.

Laird and Matt Drake drew consecutive walks to set up O’Reilly’s RBI single in the sixth, and Brad Hook brought home Heisler with a RBI double in the seventh. Jake Overstreet drew a bases-loaded walk, but Zach Blatt came out of the pen to get the next two outs and escape the jam with Auburn still leading 10-7.

After Auburn added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh, the Jags again threatened when Grichor walked and Heisler reached on an error as the first two batters in the eighth. That’s when Auburn handed the ball to its closer, Austin Hubbard, who held the Jags at bay with three consecutive strikeouts.

Hubbard worked a scoreless ninth to notch his eighth save of the season, and starting pitcher Paul Burnside picked up his first win of the year by allowing five runs in 5.1 innings. Brandon Brown took the loss for the Jags.

USA returns to Sun Belt Conference play when it travels to Louisiana-Lafayette for a three-game set this weekend. Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with Saturday’s game starting at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale at 1 p.m. The Jags look to build momentum after winning their first conference series of the year last season, while the Ragin’ Cajuns looks to rebound after being swept by Louisiana-Monroe.

Notes:  David Doss went 0-for-4 snapping his hitting streak at seven straight and streak of games with a RBI at five straight. He remains tied with Mike Mordecai as the Jags career hits leader with 277 ... Sean Laird topped his previous career high by extending his hitting streak to nine games with his fourth-inning home run ... Derek O'Reilly has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games. Ryan Bohanan (12 games) and Zach Grichor (11 games) also extended streak of games reaching base safely ... The Jags lead the all-time series against Auburn 44-21.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).