Auburn had 21 hits and still lost by five runs.

No. 2 Mississippi State scored 20 runs on 21 hits including five in the eighth inning to break a tie and take a 20-15 series-clinching win over the 12th-ranked Tigers Sunday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field.

Auburn falls to 20-4 overall and 4-2 in the SEC while the Bulldogs improve to 22-3 and 4-2.

“We really competed our hearts out today. I told them I was proud of them, but I don’t think there’s any doubt we’re going to have to figure something out on the mound,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson told the Auburn Network. “They scored in every single inning. It was too much for us to overcome, the two-strike hitting.”

“All in all, top to bottom, every hitter in our lineup got a hit and we had four guys with three hits. We did everything we could from an offensive standpoint.”

Cody Greenhill retired the first batter of the eighth before giving up a single and RBI double to give MSU a one-run lead. AU brought in Saturday’s starter Carson Skipper, who retired the first batter he faced before giving up a walk, RBI single and three-run home run.

Greenhill (0-1) took the loss allowing five runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings. The Bulldogs scored in every inning tagging starter Elliott Anderson for five runs, four earned, in 2.2 innings, Bailey Horn for four runs, three earned, in 1.2 innings, Kyle Gray for a run in 0.2 innings, Garrett Wade two runs in 0.0 innings and Skipper three runs in 0.1 innings. Will Morrison retired the final batter of the eighth.

Auburn rallied from a 2-0 deficit with four runs in the third and a 5-4 deficit with seven runs in the fourth. MSU pulled ahead 13-12 before Judd Ward hit a three-run home run in the seventh to give the Tigers a 15-13 lead.

MSU answered right back with two in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game before winning it with the five-run eighth.

Ward was 2 of 5 with for RBI, Edouard Julien 3 of 6 with two runs scored and two RBI, Conor Davis 3 of 5 with two runs scored and one RBI, Ryan Bliss 3 of 5 with two runs scored and two RBI and Kason Howell 3 of 6 with two runs scored and one RBI.

Steven Williams had two hits including a two-run home run in the fourth. Will Holland was 2 of 4 with two runs scored, Rankin Woley 2 of 6 with two runs scored and Matt Scheffler 1 of 6 with a run scored and one RBI.

Auburn returns to action Tuesday against Alabama in the Capital City Classic. First pitch at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network. The Tigers travel to South Carolina for a three-game series next weekend.