HOOVER, Ala. - Judd Ward bunted home the go-ahead run and hit a two-run homer as No. 8 seed Auburn defeated ninth-seeded Tennessee 5-3 in the first round of the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament Tuesday at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
Auburn (33-23) faces No. 1 seed Vanderbilt (45-10) on Wednesday in the first day of double-elimination competition.
Tennessee (38-19) was eliminated. The Volunteers haven't won an SEC tournament game since 2007.
Ward's bunt hit in the fifth inning scored Edouard Julien, and his two-run blast in the seventh extended Auburn's lead to 5-2.
Tennessee cut the margin to 5-3 on Zach Daniels' ninth-inning homer and had the tying run at the plate with one out when Christian Scott belted a shot that was caught at the warning track in right field. Cody Greenhill then struck out Jay Charleston to earn his 10th save this year.
Auburn's Bailey Horn (3-0) allowed one hit and one run in four innings of relief. Tennessee's Garrett Stallings (8-4) yielded three runs in five innings.
The Vols loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first but got just one run as Andre Lipcius scored on Jake Rucker's sacrifice fly, and Auburn went up 2-1 in the second. Tennessee tied it in the fifth when Christian Scott walked, then used wild pitches to advance to second, third and home.
Lipcius finished 2-for-4. The Vols were outhit 7-4.