Auburn finally got a chance to play with a lead and it worked out quite well.

The Tigers got two early runs at No. 2 Arkansas and hung on for a 2-1 victory, the first conference win of the season. AU improves to 12-11 overall and 1-6 in the SEC.

“They’ve just been competing this whole time and to get that finish line and just hold that lead and never surrender it … we had a plan and a vision and it came through,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson told the Auburn Network.

“It all started with Cody Greenhill. This was another outing where he gave us a chance and we finally made it happen for him. He’s starting to feel better and better. It was a great win for us when we needed it the most.”

Greenhill (3-0) earned the win holding the Razorbacks to a run on three hits in 7.0 innings. He struck out five and didn’t issue a walk on 90 pitches.

“It was big-time,” Greenhill told the Auburn Network. “The offense stepped up and the defense played out of their minds. It was definitely a team win.”

Carson Skipper threw a scoreless eighth and Mason Barnett a scoreless ninth to earn his first save of the season.

“It was awesome seeing those guys come in,” said Greenhill. “Carson did a great job. He hadn’t pitched in maybe two weeks. Barnett came in and gave us a chance to close it out. I think we looked great tonight.”

Brody Moore was 2 of 5 including a solo home run in the third inning to put AU up 1-0. Moore also turned two key 4-3 double plays including one in the ninth.

The Tigers added another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Nate LaRue. Rankin Woley was 2 of 4 and Kason Howell 1 of 3 with a run scored and a couple of key plays in centerfield.

“Our pitching staff, I felt like they trusted the defense behind them tonight and they were able to shove the ball in the strike zone,” Moore told the Auburn Network. “We all just love fielding ground balls and double plays.”

Arkansas’ lone run came on a solo home run by Braydon Webb in the fourth inning. Patrick Wicklander (1-1) took the loss allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts.

Razorback reliever Kevin Kopps struck out eight in 3.0 scoreless innings.

The series continues Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and concludes Saturday at 2 p.m. Both games are on SECN+/ESPN+.