Jon Luke Jacobs bit his tongue when coach John Pawlowski strolled to the mound in the seventh inning Saturday at Plainsman Park.

The redshirt freshman was one out away from shutting Vanderbilt out for the fourth consecutive inning and one step closer from solidifying his third win of the season when Pawlowski wanted the ball.

“I really didn’t say anything to him, but I felt like I could have gotten out,” Jacobs said. “I would have loved to stay in.”

Pawlowski, of course, got what he wanted. Subsequently, so did Jacobs, who picked up the victory as Auburn’s bullpen hung tough in the Tigers’ 5-3 win over the Commodores.

The uncharacteristically clutch bullpen performance helped snap Auburn’s four-game conference losing streak and set up today’s rubber match.

“It all started with Jon Luke Jacobs,” Pawlowski said. “I thought he went out there and established the zone early in the game and did a great job for us. I thought that was the difference today.”

Jacobs allowed three runs on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings. And Jacobs did it all without a changeup, he said, making the much-needed extended effort from an Auburn starter that much more of a pleasant surprise.

But Auburn’s bullpen, which surrendered eight runs and 13 hits over three innings Friday, provided the biggest fortune.

With a runner at second after a two-out double in the seventh inning, Bradley Hendrix replaced Jacobs. His second pitch to Steven Liddle was slapped for an RBI single, but Hendrix escaped further damage when Tony Caldwell nabbed Liddle in an attempt to steal second base.

Though he surrendered plenty of loud outs, Hendrix went unscathed into the ninth inning. Austin Hubbard struck out Curt Casali looking to end the game.

“Certainly,” Pawlowski said, “I thought both those guys stepped up for us today.”

Auburn (17-9, 3-5 SEC) also got a boost at the plate Saturday, as it returned to its home-run mashing ways.

Brian Fletcher’s two-run homer in the second inning, his seventh of the year, put Auburn on top, 2-1. Ben Jones’ two-out, two-run homer in the sixth provided Jacobs’ and the bullpen all the cushion it would need.

Sandwiched in between was Hunter Morris’ two-out RBI single in the third inning.

“We had a lot of big two-out hits tonight,” Jones said. “I thought we did a good job of just regrouping and coming out here to get the job done today.”

Pawlowski said he was still unsure whom he would throw in today’s pivotal rubber match.

“You always want to win the series,” Jones said. “We call them ‘Championship Sundays.’”

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