The super-sized American flag and the 12 SEC team flags beneath it Sunday at Plainsman Park swirled every way but at the hitters’ faces.

For a team that’s been swatting the ball out of the park at an historic clip, the added assistance was like splashing gasoline on an already-blazing bonfire for Auburn’s power hitters.

Auburn mashed five home runs Sunday on its way to an 11-10 series-clinching victory over Vanderbilt before 1,929 fans.

“When you’ve got the wind blowing in, you try to work down, try to keep it out of the air,” first baseman Hunter Morris said. “But today, you just try to put a good swing on it and if you happen to elevate it, it’s going to help you out plenty.”

With 29 games to play, Auburn has already equaled its home run total from last season with 58, a total that ranks seventh all-time. The Tigers need just 29 home runs to match the school record.

More importantly, Sunday’s win gave Auburn (18-9, 4-5 SEC) its second conference series victory in three tries, a complete 180 after last weekend’s sweep to Arkansas and Friday’s ugly series-opening loss.

“This league is about getting up off the mat,” coach John Pawlowski said. “(The players) responded. They came back and won a close ballgame yesterday and what turned out to be a close ballgame again today.”

Another interesting effort from Auburn’s bullpen, which allowed five runs over the final two innings, made the final result much closer, but yet another power surge from Auburn’s bats did enough to cover up the team’s shortcomings.

Eight of the Tigers’ 11 runs came via the longball. Trent Mummey, Brian Fletcher and Morris each tallied two-run homers, while Kevin Patterson and Justin Hargett added solo shots.

The five-homer game was the ninth in Auburn history and the third time the Tigers have hit five or more in a game this season.

“We’ve got a lot of strong guys with really good swings that have obviously proven that we’re going to hit balls out of the yard, but I don’t think any of our hitters really try to do that,” said Morris, who went 3-for-5 on Sunday. “And that’s for the best.”

Catcher Tony Caldwell helped Auburn’s cause without a home run, as the sophomore slapped RBI singles in the first and eighth innings.
The eighth-inning shot proved crucial, as Austin Hubbard labored through a four-run ninth inning.

Caldwell was also the centerpiece of the game’s most exciting moment, which resulted in Pawlowski’s first ejection at Auburn.

With runners at second and third, Vanderbilt’s Drew Fann botched a suicide squeeze attempt, stranding Andrew Giobbi and Jason Esposito in between their respective bases. Caldwell stormed toward third and tagged Giobbi as he stood on the base and then tagged
Esposito as he stepped off toward second.

Umpires originally ruled both runners out, but rescinded the call and called just Esposito out as Auburn trotted off the field.

“The one runner for Vanderbilt came off the bag after the first runner got called out,” Caldwell said. “That’s where the umpire made a mistake and both guys should have been out.”

Pawlowski, who engaged in a long jawing match with home-plate umpire Keith Sanders on Saturday, charged out of the dugout and went right after Sanders, who was manning third base Sunday.

As Sanders began to retreat toward third base, Pawlowski grew more and more steamed. When the feud extended all the way past third base, with Giobbi momentarily acting as a screen at third base, Sanders finally tossed Pawlowski. The Auburn coach promptly slammed
his hat to the ground, drawing a loud ovation from the fans behind Auburn’s dugout, and argued a few more minutes before retreating to
the locker room.

Pawlowski did not want to discuss the call after the game, even when asked about the specific play.

“We made a lot of good plays today,” Pawlowski said with a smirk.

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