All season long, John Pawlowski has talked about how every SEC series is bigger than the previous, and the next one will be bigger than that, and so forth and so on.

Well, now, using that logic, how big is the final conference series of the season for the Auburn baseball team as it travels to Ole Miss today?

“I think the players understand, I think everyone understands the magnitude of it,” the second-year Auburn coach said. “Obviously, the magnitude of it has increased as the season’s moved on. But the guys are just anxious and excited to have a chance to play for something pretty large.”

Large, indeed.

No. 16 Auburn (36-17, 17-10 SEC), with a one-game lead on the 17th-ranked Rebels (36-17, 16-11) for first in the SEC West, needs to win two of three games this weekend, and have Vanderbilt beat Arkansas at least once, to ensure its first division title since 1995.

The Tigers are also playing for a chance to host an NCAA Regional in the beginning of June — a possibility that might seem like a long shot when you consider what Auburn is up against when it comes to other SEC teams that consistently draw bigger crowds, which means more money, something the NCAA takes highly into consideration when naming the 16 host sites.

But it’s not something that Pawlowski is losing sleep over.

“There’s a lot of games, a lot of baseball left to be played,” he said. “Certainly people are talking about it, so at least we’re in the conversation.

“A lot of it is going to come down to this weekend and obviously the tournament. At least we’re in the mix, and that’s something that I’m proud of right now. But there’s too many games to be played, too many baseball decisions to be made by the committee. We’re just going to do what we can, and find a way to take care of business.

“If we play well this weekend, it certainly boosts our chances.”

The Tigers will open up their three-game series with Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m. today, playing in what is widely considered one of the best baseball environments in not only the SEC, but the country.

Making this series that much more important, and exciting, says Pawlowski.

“Ole Miss is one of the top teams in the conference — one of the top teams in the country,” he said. “It’s a tremendous college environment. A great test for our kids.

“You only have so many chances to play for championships. You only have so many chances to play in front of great crowds.”

Auburn certainly has the offensive firepower to win this weekend, as the Tigers look to claim their fifth consecutive conference series.

They lead the SEC in batting average (.354), slugging percentage (.595), on-base percentage (.426), runs scored (484), hits (670), RBI (455) and home runs (104).

The Tigers also have the confidence that they can play with, and beat, anyone on their schedule, which is exactly what Pawlowski was looking for.

“When you start the season, you always hope that you have enough resources and the guys have enough confidence and you get a few breaks,” he said. “You begin every season with the hopes, obviously, of playing for a championship and going to Omaha (for the College World Series). I’m happy with the progress we made and certainly pleased.

“There’s no telling how good our team can be and how far we can go. I think the sky’s still the limit on this club. I think we have a lot of weapons offensively, and we’ve pieced this thing together pitching-wise. There’s no telling. The kids get the confidence going and they believe they can find a way to win.”

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