AUBURN | Cody Bowker had Auburn’s number. Vanderbilt’s bullpen did not.

Cade Belyeu hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to give the 23rd-ranked Tigers a 7-6 series-clinching win over the 13th-ranked Commodores Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park.

“I took a terrible swing on the first pitch,” said Belyeu. “Then I was trying to lock in as much as I could. I saw the spin out of his hand on that last pitch and got a good swing off. I really blacked out after that. It was a crazy moment.”

Auburn improves to 16-4 overall and 2-1 in the SEC.

Belyeu’s slam came on a two-out, 0-2 pitch and sailed 422 feet over the right field wall.

“If he ever gets to the plus side, it just travels. He has great power,” said AU coach Butch Thompson. “I knew it. The timing of it makes you wonder, ‘Is it really going out?’ But as soon as he got it and it got up, I’ve seen him get that swing off, it goes.”

Belyeu’s third home run of the season comes a month and two days after his mother, Staci, passed away from cancer early in the morning of Opening Day.

Belyeu played later that day and hit a home run against Holy Cross.

“My mom, she meant the world to me,” said Belyeu. “I think about her every single day and night. She’ll always be with me no matter what. She’s God’s little angel now. I love her and look up to her. She’s my hero.”

Andreas Alvarez (1-0) earned the win holding VU to one hit in 4.0 innings out of the bullpen. The freshman right-hander struck out two and retired the final eight batters he faced.

“Alvarez came in and gave us 50-plus pitches. They didn’t score in the last five innings and we needed everyone of those goose eggs,” said Thompson.

Ryan Hetzler earned his first save of the season striking out the side in the ninth on 17 pitches.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Hetzler. “I did that last year at my past college. To do it here, it’s a big difference in this conference. I really felt comfortable out there.”

Bowker, VU’s starter, held AU to three runs, two earned, on five hits in 7.0 innings. He left with VU leading 7-3.

The Tigers scored a run in the third on a two-out, RBI-single by Bub Terrell and two more in the fifth on a leadoff home run by Eric Guevara and back-to-back errors by the VU infield.

Terrell had two of AU’s eight hits.

AU starter Christian Chatterton (2-1) had the toughest outing of his young career. The freshman right-hander allowed five runs on six hits and two walks in 3.1 innings.

Parker Carlson allowed a run on three hits in 0.2 innings.

Auburn will host Alabama State Tuesday night at 6 p.m. CT before returning to SEC play at Kentucky next weekend.