AUBURN | In an battle of aces, Auburn’s Samuel Dutton shined the brightest.

The junior right-hander carved up his former team to lead the 9th-ranked Tigers to an 8-4 win over No. 3 LSU Friday night in front of a record crowd of 6,756 at Plainsman Park.

"Just a great team win," said AU coach Butch Thompson. "When you’ve got a guy like you believe in like Dutton getting to his stuff, you can pull it off."

Dutton, who spent the previous two seasons at LSU, allowed just three hits and struck out seven in 6.0 shutout innings to improve to 5-2 on the season. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last two outings.

"It was awesome. A great experience," said Dutton of facing his former team. "But keeping the main thing the main thing. Executing the plan and just really attacking hitters."

LSU starter Kade Anderson, who was coming off a complete game shutout of Oklahoma, didn’t make it out of the fifth inning allowing six runs on five hits.

Chase Fralick staked AU to an early 2-0 lead with a two-out, two-RBI double to left center in the second inning.

Auburn erupted for four runs in the fifth on a bases-loaded triple to centerfield by Ike Irish, who came home on an RBI-single by Cooper McMurray.

"I think my first two at bats, I think I saw a combined 16 pitches," said Irish. "I’d seen everything he had. He threw me all five pitches that he throws. And I was pretty confident that I was gonna eventually square one up, and I was able to. He hung me a curve ball, and was able to put a good swing on it."

Chris Rembert drove home a run in the sixth and Eric Guevara another in the seventh.

Bub Terrell was 3 of 4 with two runs scored, and Fralick 2 of 3 with two RBI. Rembert and Guevara were both 2 of 4 with one RBI, and Irish 1 of 4 with three RBI.

Auburn’s three freshmen — Fralick, Rembert and Terrell — were a combined 7 of 11 with four runs scored and three RBI. AU totaled 13 hits.

"I thought Fralick’s hit was huge and Ike’s big swing was gigantic in this ballgame," said Thompson.

Cam Tilly gave up three runs on a hit batter and two walks in the seventh but Carson Myers came on to allow just one run on three hits over the final 2.2 innings. Myers struck out four.

Auburn, which improves to 24-10 overall and 7-6 in the SEC, will go for the series win Saturday at 6 p.m. CT. The series concludes Sunday at 2 p.m. Both games will be on SECN+/ESPN+.