AUBURN, Ala. — Banished to the locker room an inning earlier following his ejection, John Pawlowski sat alone as his team’s bullpen struggled to hold a five-run ninth-inning lead.

Was he listening?

“I was hoping,” the first-year Auburn coach said. “I was hoping to hear the crowd cheering.”

He finally did when reliever Austin Hubbard induced a ground out to end Vanderbilt’s furious rally in Auburn’s wild 11-10 victory at Plainsman Park on Sunday.

Aided by a hitter’s friendly wind that was blowing out to all fields, the Tigers (18-9, 4-5 SEC) smacked five home runs to take the rubber match of a three-game series, bouncing back from a sweep against Arkansas last weekend.

“We didn’t play real well (last weekend), but this league is about getting up off the mat,” Pawlowski said. “You’re going to get knocked down and you’ve get to get back up and you’ve got to get back up and fight.”

Quick thoughts ...

• Trent Mummey, Kevin Patterson, Brian Fletcher, Justin Hargett and Hunter Morris all went deep, Auburn’s third game this season with at least five home runs.

• The Tigers have already matched last year’s home run total with 58. With 29 games left on the schedule, they are 29 shy of the school record.

• Starter Taylor Thompson (2-1) gave Auburn exactly what it needed in a third starter. The right-hander went five innings in his first conference start, giving up four runs on six hits. The junior struck out four and left the game with a 7-2 lead.

• Nice argument by Pawlowski on a weird play in the eighth. Vandy failed on a squeeze play and two runners got caught up on third. Catcher Tony Caldwell tagged one and then other once he strolled of the bag for an apparent double play. The umps convened and said that only one of them was out. Pawlowski went nuts, arguing the play for several minutes. He took off his hat, waved it frantically and slammed it to the ground after third base umpire Kevin Sanders finally ejected him. Honestly, I think the umps got the call right, but Pawlowski had been festering since a bad call from Saturday and was probably looking to get tossed.

• Oh, that Auburn bullpen. Hubbard gave up four runs in the ninth to make it a one-run game before finally shutting the door. When the wind blows out at Plainsman Park, no lead is safe.

• Auburn plays next at South Alabama on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.