In a season of firsts for John Pawlowski, add another one to the list.

Today, the first-year Auburn baseball coach will begin his first SEC series on the road against Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., capping a big week for the Tigers.

First, Auburn played rival Alabama in the Max Capital City Classic in Montgomery — a game the Tigers won, 9-8, which does not count toward either team’s conference record — on Tuesday. Then, AU beat Western Kentucky, 11-7, on Wednesday night for its ninth consecutive win.

Now, it’s on to a three-game series against the Vols (7-6) and the beginning of SEC play.

“In the early season we are still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together,” Pawlowski said. “I feel we have made some progress in some areas and certainly we have to make some improvements in others because as everyone knows what this conference is all about.

“Friday is one that our club is definitely looking forward to.”

One area in which the Tigers (11-4) have made significant “progress” is at the plate. Currently, Auburn is second in the nation in home runs (33), and is hitting .304 as a team. New Mexico is first in the country in home runs with 34.

Auburn is outscoring its opponents 24-3 in the first inning, while averaging 8.9 runs per game.

“I have been encouraged by our offense,” Pawlowski said. “I think that is one of the things that we have some weapons.

“In this league you better be able to score some runs and score runs in a lot of different ways, whether it’s the short game or the ability to hit some home runs, which we have been fortunate enough to do that early. Some guys have really stepped up.”

Leading the way for the Tigers is Trent Mummey, who is batting .433 and is tied for second in the nation with eight home runs. Joseph Sanders is right behind Mummey on the with seven homers, and is batting .354 on the season.

But, just like Pawlowski said, there are areas of progress and then there are areas that need to be improved. The most noticeable is the bullpen.

While Auburn’s starters have been consistent so far this season (4.07 ERA), the same cannot be said for the relievers. The Tigers’ bullpen has a 7.29 ERA heading into this weekend’s series.

Tennessee will most likely be without senior third baseman Cody Brown, who injured his throwing shoulder in Tuesday’s win over Western Kentucky, diving for a ball. Brown, who started al1 55 games, including 51 at third base, is out indefinitely, according to the News Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.).

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