03/14 at 11:15 PM

Cory Luckie had a suggestion for Zach Blatt before the junior reliever left the bullpen to take the mound in the eighth inning against Arizona State on Sunday.

“He said, ‘It’s about time we get another replay of the Alabama game,’ from my freshman year,” Blatt said. “He said, ‘Can you go out and do that for us this time?’”

Blatt, an Opelika native, pitched two scoreless innings against the Tide in the inaugural Capital City Classic in Montgomery two years ago, striking out two and earning his first collegiate win in his third college outing as Auburn came back to beat Alabama, 8-7.

Sunday, Blatt threw two more scoreless innings, striking out three and earning the first win of his junior year as the Tigers came back to beat the seventh-ranked Sun Devils, 10-8, and avoid a sweep.

Just in time for the third playing of the Capital City Classic, tonight at 7 p.m. at Montgomery’s Riverwalk Stadium.

“With the sticks going, with the momentum going, our pitching staff ready to go,” Blatt said, “from here on out, it’s going to be a battle, and we’ve just got to be ready to play.”

Tonight’s matchup won’t count as an SEC game for No. 24 Auburn (11-5) or rival Alabama (11-5), but good luck convincing both sides the game doesn’t matter.

In 2009, Ben Jones’ two-out RBI double in the top of the ninth delivered an 8-7 win for Auburn, which trailed by a run entering the ninth.

Last year, reliever Michael Hurst held the Tide’s bats quiet over the middle 3 1/3 innings, and Austin Hubbard picked up a two-inning save in the Tigers’ 8-6 win.

Neither game counted in the SEC standings. Both went down to the wire.

“This is a very important game,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said. “Any time you get Auburn and Alabama together, no matter if it’s chess or checkers, it becomes important to a lot of people and it’s very important to us.”

The Tigers will send junior righty Will Irvin (2-0, 3.86 ERA) to the mound to counter Alabama sophomore lefty Taylor Wolfe (1-1, 6.00).

Irvin, a transfer from Itawamba (Miss.) Community College, could be in the mix for a spot in the weekend rotation with a strong outing against Alabama.

After struggling in his first start against Jacksonville State, Irvin gave up a run in five innings against Bethune-Cookman his next time out, then picked up the win with seven innings of two-run ball against Memphis last Tuesday.

Luckie (1-1, 3.63) and Derek Varnadore (3-0, 2.79) have been steady on the mound for the Tigers, but opening-day starter Slade Smith has struggled in his first four starts.

The sophomore from Fort Payne has an 8.00 ERA on the year, lasting an average of 4.5 innings per outing with a .395 batting average against.

“We’ve got to get our guys ready to go. We might have to make some adjustments,” Pawlowski said after Friday’s 8-7 loss to Arizona State. “We’ve got Alabama (today), and then we’ve got to jump right into conference. So that is something we’re going to look at.”

As for Blatt, his two scoreless innings against Arizona State lowered his ERA more than 2.5 points to 5.68 and restored some of the confidence he may have lost in a couple of rough outings to begin the season.

He said it got him feeling like Capital City Classic time, circa 2009, all over again.

“Zach’s been chomping at the bit to get back out there,” Pawlowski said Sunday. “I know he’s been down on himself a little bit. He’s a big part of what we’re doing. He looked confident out there, looked like he was in command. So that was real encouraging.”

| 737-2568

No. 24 Auburn (11-5) vs. Alabama (11-5)
Where: Riverwalk Stadium, Montgomery

When: 7 p.m.

Radio/TV: WKKR (97.7 FM)/CSS

Probable Starters: RHP Will Irvin (Jr., 2-0, 3.86) vs. LHP Taylor Wolfe (So., 1-1, 6.00 ERA)