AUBURN, Ala. — Ahead by three and with ace Grant Dayton on the mound, Auburn couldn’t have asked for a much better opportunity to snap a three-game SEC slide Friday.

Four catastrophic innings later and the Tigers’ early surge was nothing but a footnote in another ugly loss.

Dayton gave up four sixth-inning runs and the bullpen imploded as Vanderbilt battered Auburn pitchers for 22 hits in a 12-3 victory at Plainsman Park. It was the most hits the Tigers allowed all season.

“I’m disappointed by the way we lost,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said.

That’s four straight home conference losses for the Tigers (16-9, 2-5 SEC), who were swept by Arkansas last weekend.

“We have to learn how to play baseball better,” Pawlowski said. “Right now, we are just not playing good baseball and doing little things.”

Some notes and thoughts ...

• Not a bad outing for Dayton (2-3), who threw five scoreless innings before a mess of a sixth. He lost his second straight decision for the first time in his career, giving up four runs on 10 hits in six innings. He struck out four.

• While it's odd to look at one play in a nine-run loss, Auburn didn't help Dayton out in the sixth defensively. After Andrew Giobbi hit an RBI single to left to get Vanderbilt on the board, he tried to advance to second on the throw to the plate as Aaron Westlake retreated to the base. But catcher Tony Caldwell sailed his throw into center field. Instead of getting one guaranteed out, both runners came around to score on the error, tying the game at 3.

• Auburn's bullpen is abysmal. There's no other word for it. The Commodores scored eight runs in the final three innings. Seventeen of their 22 hits came in the final four innings. It was the most the Tigers' pitching staff had allowed all season.

• Very pedestrian night at the plate for Auburn, which managed only five hits off Vandy starter Mike Minor (2-2). Minor struck out 11, fanning nine of the first 15 batters he faced. Remember, this is a pitcher who had an 0-2 record and 5.56 ERA in his first two SEC starts.

• The teams play again today at 4 p.m. EDT, weather permitting. Jon Luke Jacobs (2-0, 4.97 ERA) takes the mound for Auburn against Vanderbilt's Caleb Cotham (3-2, 3.90).