AUBURN | Auburn had a little too much pitching and power for No. 12 Vanderbilt

Three AU pitchers combined to allow just two hits and four of seven hits went for extra bases as the 25th-ranked Tigers beat the Commodores 5-1 Friday night at Plainsman Park.

Auburn improves to 21-9 overall and 6-4 in the SEC while Vandy falls to 21-8 and 4-6.

AU starter Hayden Mullins struck out a career-high nine and allowed just one hit in 4.1 innings. But the junior left-hander issued six walks including three to load the bases with one out in the fifth.

Carson Skipper got AU out of the jam with one pitch, getting Dominic Keegan to ground into a 5-3 double play.

“We pitched low tonight,” Butch Thompson, who earned his 200th win at AU, told the Auburn Network. “We gave up just one run. Mullins’s stuff was good. Skipper came in with the bases loaded, Keegan, the best hitter on the team, and got a ground ball to Rambusch. That was a huge moment.

“That’s about as sharp as I’ve seen Carson Skipper. Thought he was awesome … and here comes Blake Burkhalter to give us two innings with no hits.”

Skipper (3-0) earned the win allowing one run in 2.2 innings. Burkhalter closed the door for his SEC-leading seventh save, striking out four over the final 2.0 innings.

The trio combined for 15 strikeouts.

Auburn used the long ball to build a 4-0 lead as Cole Foster hit a solo home run in the second and Brooks Carlson a three-run blast in the third.

“I was just trying to hit the ball hard,” Carlson told the Auburn Network. “It felt good. I’m not going to lie. I’m glad I was able to help and extend the lead.”

Leading 4-1 in the eighth, AU tacked on an insurance run on a two-out, RBI triple by Bobby Peirce.

The series continues Saturday at 4 p.m. CT and concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will be available on SECN+/ESPN+.