AUBURN | No. 19 Auburn is coming off six consecutive wins including a weekend sweep over South Carolina.

They’ll need to play even better over the next two weeks to get close to that same win total. The Tigers play at Jacksonville State Tuesday night, a team it lost to earlier this season, and then at No. 1 Tennessee this weekend.

The next week is finals followed by a home series against No. 5 Arkansas.

“I will turn it into a fun opportunity. It’ll be great. It’ll be unbelievable for us,” said Auburn coach Butch Thompson. “That’s why it’s so huge to get every win you can.”

Auburn, 29-12 overall and 11-7 in the conference, is just a game behind the Razorbacks for first in the SEC West. The Volunteers, 37-3 and 17-1, are off to the best start in league history.

JSU, which beat Auburn 5-2 March 29, has won four of their last five games including a series win over Lipscomb last weekend.

The Tigers, which are 9-1 in midweek games, will go with junior right-hander Mason Barnett (2-1, 4.29 ERA) against JSU freshman right-hander Tanner Jones (2-3, 5.36). Barnett is 1-0 with a 1.92 ERA in his last three midweek starts with 19 strikeouts in 14.0 innings.

First pitch on ESPN+ is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

CLUTCH WINS: During its six-game winning streak, Auburn was either tied or trailed in the seventh inning or later in four of the games. AU’s bullpen has a 1.80 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 20.0 innings during the winning streak. In the last six games, AU has scored 16 runs in the sixth inning or later.

SWINGING THE BIG STICKS: Several AU players are swinging hot bats. Sonny DiChiara hit .611 in five games last week with two doubles, a home run and five RBI. The senior first baseman leads the nation in batting average (.447) and on-base percentage (.595), and leads the SEC in slugging percentage (.862). Blake Rambusch hit .450 with four RBI in five games while Nate LaRue hit .556 with a double, home run and six RBI in four games.

DYNAMIC DUO: Blake Burkhalter and Carson Skipper combined to win two games and save three more in four appearances apiece last week. Burkhalter earned the win against Alabama State Tuesday and then saves in all three wins over South Carolina. He’s the first AU player since at least 1992 to earn three saves in an SEC weekend. He led the SEC with 12 strikeouts last week. Skipper got the win against USC Friday night and needed just 19 pitches to record six outs in the final two games of the series.

EASY LIKE SUNDAY AFTERNOON: Joseph Gonzalez is the first Auburn pitcher to turn in four consecutive quality starts since Casey Mize in 2018. He’s the first AU pitcher to win four consecutive league starts since Keegan Thompson in 2015. In his last three starts, Gonzalez is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA, 18 strikeouts and no walks.