Auburn University welcomed the defending national champion and No. 3 Louisiana State University to Plainsman Park last weekend for a successful three game baseball series.
"In every inning I never thought any lead was safe," said coach John Pawlowski. "We would have one and then they would have one so that was tough."
After battling through the first game Friday night, Auburn fell four runs short to LSU, 14-10.
Although the team suffered defeat, players had success at the plate.
Ten players had at least one hit for a total of 12 hits, making it Auburn's fourth game in a row to produce a double-digit hitting performance.
The tables turned when the Auburn Tigers came out on top at Saturday's game 11-7.
Pawlowski said he was proud of how his players stayed motivated and kept their game plan.
"One of the things that our kids will hopefully be able to do from this is take some confidence," Pawlowski said. "We hadn't beaten LSU at home since 1998, so this was something we had talked about and I'm really proud of them."
Juniors Justin Fradejas, Trent Mummey, Brian Fletcher and Hunter Morris maintained reputable stats as their hits drove in 10 of the 11 total runs.
"I feel really good," Mummey said. "Coming in off an injury, I feel that I did all I could for the team. Coach put me in the two-hole this weekend which gave me a little confidence and it seemed to work out all weekend."
Auburn fought LSU for the deciding win Sunday afternoon.
Plainsman Park had an impressive number of fans, with attendance more than 3,100.
After struggling neck-deep in tension, junior Kevin Patterson hit his eighth home run of the season.
This home run ended the 4-4 tie and put Auburn in the lead.
Morris sent the ball out of the park when he hit his ninth home run of the season in the third inning.
Junior Tony Caldwell had a home run in the fourth as well as Mummey's RBI infield single in the fourth to go up 4-3.
When the game was tied-up in the bottom of the ninth inning, sophomore Casey McElroy sent the fans in the stands into frenzy as he ran in the game-winning risky safety squeeze.
"It just felt really good," McElroy said. "It was like a battle the whole weekend between the two teams. We just never gave up today and we came out, with a win. It was really exciting.
Pawlowski said the frenzy wasn't just contained to the stands.
"There was certainly some excitement in the dugout when Justin put down that safety squeeze," Pawlowski said. "Those guys flew out of the dugout. It's a great win for our kids and for our program. Especially when you're down three to nothing in the first inning before you even come to the bat."
McElroy said the team will get back to the drawing board this week and keep practicing but is looking forward to the road trip against Vanderbilt.
"These really are two outstanding teams," Pawlowski said. "This weekend definitely gave the kids some confidence. Hopefully we can move forward from there."
The Tigers hit the road to take on Vanderbilt tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Look online for coverage of last night's home game against New Orleans.
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