Edouard Julien had a pair of hits for the Tigers

HOOVER, Alabama—Sophomore outfielder Judd Ward bunted home the go-ahead run in the fifth inning and his two-run home run in the seventh put the finishing touches on a 5-3 Auburn victory over Tennessee on the opening day of the SEC Tournament.

On the mound reliever Bailey Horn came up huge for the Tigers. Throwing four innings out of the bullpen, Horn allowed just a solo home run in the ninth inning and struck out six with only one walk.

With the win Auburn improves to 33-23 overall and advances to the double-elimination portion of the tournament on Wednesday. The Tigers will face top seed Vanderbilt in the third game of the day with the first pitch set for approximately 4:30 p.m. at the Hoover Met.

“We just felt like these last couple of games the season was on the line and you need them," Thompson said of the Saturday win over LSU and Tuesday's victory. "You look at where we’re at statistically and we can’t run away from anybody. We’ve gotten used to playing close ball games for a while. I think if the guys can settle the nerves and continue to play they can have success in the moment. That’s a good thing for a coach to see out of a ball club.

"So I think we’ve fallen on some character, and that’s really good to see for a ball club. I’m really just as proud of this club as I’ve been of the last two, because this ball club has been through more, and I think that character is taking them to a point of ‘keep going.’ We have not caught fire, by any means, like winning 15 games in a row earlier in the year, but if they keep hanging around and keep building, hopefully we get to continue to play this season long enough to where we can take strides. I think character has kind of taken us to this point and kept us alive to this point.”

Tied at two in the bottom of the fifth Auburn would take the lead thanks to a clutch play by Ward. With one out Edouard Julien singled off the glove of the second baseman for his second hit of the day. Playing in his first SEC Tournament game, freshman center fielder Kason Howell ripped a single into right-center that moved Julien around to third with one out.

One of Auburn’s best bunters, Ward laid down a perfect bunt towards first base and when the Tennessee first baseman fielded it was too late to get Ward. Julien scored on the safety squeeze for the 3-2 Auburn lead. Ryan Bliss would walk to load the bases with one out and the heart of the Auburn order, but both Conor Davis and Will Holland would strike out to leave the bags packed.

Two innings later Ward would deliver the big blow.

With Horn doing the job on the mound Auburn came to the plate in the seven inning looking for some insurance. Walking with one out, Howell was on first base when Ward stepped to the plate against Tennessee reliever Camden Sewell. Getting a 1-1 fastball, the Russellville native hit a blast that just cleared the right field wall for his fourth home run of the year to put Auburn in front by three.

"I’ve been watching this tournament since I was born," Ward said. "I love this tournament. Coming out here and competing in it and being able to be a part of it, it’s one of the best feelings in the world—especially with the atmosphere we brought tonight with all the fans, it was awesome."

With one out in the ninth pinch hitter Zach Daniels’ solo home run ended the day for Horn and brought Cody Greenhill out of the bullpen. Hitting the first batter he faced, Greenhill gave up a long fly ball to right field for the second out before facing leadoff man Jay Charleston with the game on the line. Batting with several foul balls, Charleston would take a pitch down the middle to end the game.

"I think Elliott Anderson was really good," Thompson said. "Got us off to a good start. I think his outing was shortened from just a command standpoint. He had a few walks but nonetheless, had six strikeouts, got us into the game very good. And then I thought Bailey Horn really almost got us to the finish line and just did a great job. I thought he shoved the ball in the strike zone. I thought he got better and better. Had a pinch-hit home run.

"We thought better of it before the game, then you get in a battle and you’re trying to earn something, and we wound up letting Greenhill get in the ballgame, and he was able to finish it off. I really thought it was neat, with Judd Ward’s at-bats, because he had not only the home run that probably brought him in the room. There was also a bunt that got him to first base. He’s just been able to do different things. We were very routine-oriented with our defense, and made a lot of plays — 13 strikeouts requires less defense, of course. Just thankful to get this first game tonight."

Tennessee got the scoring started in the top of the first off Anderson, but things could have been much worse for the Auburn junior making his third career start. With one out Andre Lipcius singled and Alerick Soulaire followed with a single to put runners on first and second. Following a walk to load the bases, a Jake Rucker fly ball to center field put the Vols in front.

Auburn would respond in the bottom of the second inning with some help from Tennessee. With one out Matt Scheffler singled to open the inning before a walk to Rankin Woley put the Tigers in business. Following a Steven Williams fly ball for the second out, Edouard Julien came to the plate looking to do some damage.

With Stallings working at a lightning pace, Julien quickly fell down 0-2 in the count before working things back even. Getting enough of a pitch to lift the ball into shallow center field, Julien reached when shortstop Ricky Martinez couldn’t make an over-the-shoulder grab. Moving on contact, both Scheffler and Woley scored with Julien cruising into second for the bloop double.

That’s how things would remain until the top of the fifth when the Auburn pitching staff would implode for an inning with some help from its own offense. On a very hot day Auburn hitters only saw six pitches in the bottom of the fourth to put Anderson right back on the mound in less than three minutes.

Walking the leadoff man, Anderson compounded the mistake with a pair of wild pitches to put Christian Scott on third with no outs. A walk to Jay Charleston followed and when he stole second the Vols had runners in scoring position for the heart of the order. Coming on in a tough spot, freshman Will Morrison got Lipcius on a ground ball to third to keep the runners on base.

That’s when Horn would enter for the Tigers. Getting the first batter on a pop up, the left-hander uncorked a wild pitch of his own to allow Scott to score and tie the game at two. Getting out of the jam, he would settle down to allow Ward to hit Auburn to the win.

The Tigers will take on top seed Vanderbilt in the third game of the day on Wednesday. Junior left-hander Kyle Gray, 2-3 with a 4.87 ERA in his first Auburn season, will get the start on the mound.



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