The wind was blowing out and so were the baseballs Sunday afternoon at John Euliano Park.

No. 15 Auburn and UCF combined for seven home runs, but it was the Tigers with a season-high 15 hits that came out on top 13-9 to win the series. Auburn improves to 6-2 while the Knights fall to 5-2.

“This was an SEC Sunday afternoon game,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “It was one of those back and forth type of affairs. … Just a really good battle for us. I learned my team will grind.”

Auburn, which won Friday’s opener 4-1 before falling 6-1 Saturday, hit three home runs, one triple, two doubles and even had two singles that bounced off the outfield wall.

With Auburn holding into a tenuous 9-8 lead after four innings, freshman Ryan Bliss came through with a two-out, two-RBI double in the sixth to stretch the lead to 11-8.

UCF answered with a run in the sixth but the Tigers added two insurance runs in the ninth on an RBI single by Will Holland and a two-out RBI single by Steven Williams.

“Last weekend against Georgia Southern we obviously had a pretty good tussle against them, two 13-inning games,” Williams said. “This weekend down here in Orlando, this is a very good baseball team that we came down and played some good baseball and got two of three games. We’re going to work off that and build for that the rest of the year.”

The Tigers held a powerful UCF lineup to just one run over the final five innings. After giving up a home run on his first pitch of the fourth, Will Morrison didn’t allow another hit for the next two innings. Richard Fitts gave up a home run on his second pitch out of the bullpen, but held UCF to just one additional hit over the next 2.0 innings.

Elliott Anderson threw a hitless eighth and Cody Greenhill a hitless ninth.

Williams was 3 of 5 with two runs scored and three RBI including a two-run home run in the third, Conor Davis 2 of 5 with two runs scored and two RBI including a two-run home run in the second, and Rankin Woley was 1 of 5 with two runs scored and one RBI including a solo home run during a four-run fourth.

Judd Ward was 2 of 4 with two runs scored and three RBI. He had an RBI groundout in the second and drove home two with a triple in the fourth.

Matt Scheffler was 3 of 5 with two runs scored, Bliss 2 of 5 with two RBI and Holland 2 of 5 with two RBI.

Carson Skipper (2-0) earned the win allowing three runs in 2.0 innings. Auburn starter Bailey Horn lasted just 1.0 innings allowing four runs on five hits.

UCF had nine hits including four home runs, two by Dallas Beaver. Jack Sinclair (1-1) took the loss allowing three runs on six hits in 1.1 innings out of the bullpen.

Auburn is back in action next weekend for a three-game series against Cincinnati at Plainsman Park. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on SECN+.