HOOVER, Ala. — Sixth-seeded Ole Miss jumped on the scoreboard in the first inning and never looked back en route to a 4-1 win against 11th-seeded Kentucky on Tuesday in the opening game of the 2013 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

The Rebels (37-20) advance to face third-seeded Arkansas (35-19) at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Mike Mayers (5-5) earned the victory for Ole Miss, pitching 6.1 innings in a starting role, allowing no earned runs and striking out four.

“I don’t know if we have another guy who can do what Mike just did. It probably worked out better than we imagined; he was terrific today,” Head Coach Mike Bianco said. ““He had the whole package; it could be as good as he’s pitched all year. He had his fastballs and with all the left hander; he had both his changeup and slider; he had a great mix. Probably the best he’s been all year.”

Ole Miss’ Austin Anderson recorded his team’s first hit of the game and then was driven in by a sacrifice fly from Andrew Mistone to give the Rebels an early 1-0 lead.

The Rebels added a run in the third when Christian Helsel opened the inning with a double to left field and was driven in by a double down the right-field line from Anderson.

Kentucky scored its lone run in the top of the fourth as Zac Zellers doubled to right-center field and crossed home plate on an Ole Miss throwing error.

Ole Miss tacked on two runs in the sixth inning with RBI from Auston Bousfield and Will Allen.

Kentucky (30-25) was eliminated from the tournament as part of a new 12-team format that features a single-elimination opening day.