Not three hours had passed since Joseph Sanders had his jaw broken by a fastball, but John Pawlowski was looking toward an uncertain future.

Pawlowski knew Sanders wasn’t coming back any time soon, let alone for this weekend’s series at No. 6 LSU. So, the first-year coach used the time following his team’s awful, 8-2 loss to Samford to somewhat call the Tigers out before an arduous end-of-season run through the conference.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” Pawlowski said. “You go into a tough environment with one of your better players out, but we will see how competitive we are.

“Everybody needs to take responsibility for this.”

The Tigers have lost their last two conference series, as they continue to wobble back and forth between SEC tournament eligibility and ineligibility. If it were to start today, Auburn (25-16, 8-10 SEC) would be making its first appearance in the eight-team field since 2003 as the last team in.

That status will be tough to hold, though, if Auburn plays like it has the past few weeks against perennial power LSU.

“This will be a great challenge for us,” Pawlowski said.

LSU is reeling just a bit, though.

The Bengal Tigers lost two of three at their brand-new ballpark last weekend to last-place Tennessee — a team Auburn took two of three from on the road to start the conference season. LSU (30-12, 11-7) came into the series ranked No. 1 in the country, but would now be the three-seed in the SEC Tournament if it began today.

Still, it’s not exactly the ideal team you want to face when you’re without your best hitter in almost every category.

“LSU is very talented. Top to bottom they can pitch it and they can hit it,” Pawlowski said. “When you look at the numbers that they have and the roster, they are very, very talented. They are right there at the top of the league in terms of talent and then you are going into an environment where they are very tough at home.”

Pawlowski said Tuesday that freshmen Dan Gamache and Chezz McCann, along with sophomore Wes Gilmer, are all possibilities to fill in for Sanders at third base. His decision will likely hinge on whether second baseman Justin Hargett (knee infection) is available.

Gamache started in Hargett’s place Tuesday.

“Somebody else is going to have to step up,” Pawlowski said.

Pawlowski will flash a different look with his rotation this weekend, as Jon Luke Jacobs, who has started every conference Saturday so far this season, will take the mound for tonight’s 7 p.m. start. Grant Dayton, who has started every Friday until now but has struggled recently, will start Saturday.

Sunday’s starter, as has been standard procedure, will depend on how Pawlowski uses the bullpen in the first two games.

“We have to find something that we can attach ourselves to,” Pawlowski said. “We have to find something that we can believe in and something that can push us over the hump, so to speak. We still have a chance in the SEC, we are right in the hunt, but this weekend becomes a very important weekend.”

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