Auburn needed a spark.

After blowing two leads in back-to-back losses against Arizona State — and with Sunday’s series finale shaping up the same way — the Tigers needed something positive to avoid dropping their sixth straight against the Sun Devils in the past two years.

Casey McElroy provided it, roping the first pitch he saw from the Sun Devils’ Mitchell Lambson with two outs in the bottom of the eighth into the left-field corner, scoring Jay Gonzalez and Justin Fradejas and knotting up the game.

Dan Gamache followed with a double and Wes Gilmer rapped a single, plating two more runs and giving the No. 23 Tigers all they’d need in a 10-8 win over No. 7 Arizona State at Plainsman Park on Sunday.

“The first two ballgames, they were really emotional, really draining,” said McElroy, who was 3-for-5 with three RBI on the day. “We kind of came up empty-handed, but we were right there until the end. This game we knew was going to be another dogfight.

“We just kept believing, battled to the end.”

Auburn (11-5) came into the eighth down 8-6 before Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk, Fradejas walked to extend the inning with two outs, and McElroy knocked them both in to tie the game.

Gamache followed McElroy with a high fly to left, one that chased Sun Devils left fielder Matt Newman to the wall.

Newman snared the ball with a leaping catch, but it jarred loose when he hit the wall, allowing McElroy to score the go-ahead run and Gamache to coast into second.

“I thought it got blown up a little and it was an easy fly ball,” said Gamache, who was 3-for-5 with four RBI. “But the wind took it, and I got lucky.”

Gilmer, who was 2-for-4, followed Gamache with a single through the left side to give the Tigers a 10-8 lead, and Opelika High grad Zach Blatt made it stick on the mound in the ninth.

Blatt (1-1) pitched two perfect innings in relief for the win, striking out three.

“I needed that big-time for myself,” Blatt said. “I struggled a pretty good bit my last few outings. It was much needed, and I was glad to be out there.”

Auburn jumped up 2-0 in the third inning on a two-run single by Gamache, but, just like in the first two games, Arizona State (11-3) came back in the fourth.

The Sun Devils broke through on Auburn starter Derek Varnadore, who had pitched three perfect innings, plating four runs on a three-run shot by Zach Wilson and a Newman RBI double to take a 4-2 lead.

The Tigers took a 5-4 lead on a Cullen Wacker sacrifice fly in the sixth, but the Sun Devils put up another four in the seventh on an Andy Workman RBI single, a two-run single by Zack MacPhee and a Wilson sacrifice fly, chasing Varnadore.

Arizona State got all of its eight runs and seven hits in the fourth and seventh innings.

Auburn answered with a Gamache RBI double in the seventh to make the score 8-6, but could have made even more headway.

With runners at second and third and no outs, Sun Devils third baseman Riccio Torrez made a diving stop on a Gilmer grounder and nabbed McElroy off third.

Lambson struck out the next two batters to end the threat.

The Tigers would have to wait one more inning for their breakthrough.

“We got some breaks that inning, which we really needed to,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said. “It was a real important team win. Just what the doctor ordered.”

Fradejas and Gonzalez were each 2-for-3, and Justin Hargett was 2-for-5 for the Tigers, who travel to Montgomery to take on rival Alabama on Tuesday.

“I thought our kids never backed down from the challenge today,” Pawlowski said. “I told them we need to compete the whole game, no matter what happens. I thought they did that.”

| 737-2568