HOOVER, Ala. — The Auburn baseball team has leaned on its bats all season, justifiably so considering the way the group has lit up the scoreboard.

But the much-maligned pitching staff saved the day Thursday, extending the second-seeded Tigers’ stay in the SEC tournament by shutting down South Carolina in an extra-inning 3-1 victory at Regions Park.

Grant Dayton and Austin Hubbard combined to give up one run in 12 innings for Auburn (40-18), which advanced to play Ole Miss in another elimination game Friday at 4 p.m. ET.

“So much credit has gone to the hitters, and rightfully so,” Auburn head coach John Pawlowski said. “They’ve done a great job and time and time again have bailed us out of a lot of tough situations. It’s just nice to see the pitchers that have been working so hard to see the reward.”

Center fielder Trent Mummey ended the stalemate with a two-run single in the 12th to give Auburn its first SEC tournament win since 2003 and eliminate the third-seeded Gamecocks (43-14).

“I think it’s great for our players’ mind set, knowing we can win in the postseason, win in the tournament,” Pawlowski said. “After last night, obviously the guys were frustrated, rightfully so. They came back today and it was an absolute battle today.”

The Tigers, who were stymied by Alabama’s Jimmy Nelson in a 7-1 loss Wednesday, were equally frustrated Thursday by South Carolina ace Blake Cooper, the league’s wins leader.

Auburn’s only run in the first 11 innings came on a fourth-inning solo homer by Creede Simpson, an injury replacement for left fielder Brian Fletcher, who left in the second after being hit on the hand by a pitch an inning earlier (X-rays were negative and he’s day-to-day).

But the Tigers’ pitchers kept things close. Dayton, a Sunday starter who emerged as Auburn’s most effective pitcher down the stretch, used Regions Park’s spacious outfield to his advantage by getting 13 fly ball outs, including a diving snag by right fielder Justin Fradejas that prevented extra bases early in the game.

“That might be No. 1 on SportsCenter,” Hubbard said.

The only run Dayton surrendered was a seventh-inning homer to catcher Brady Thomas that tied the game at 1-1.

Hubbard (5-2), Auburn’s closer, took it from there. The right-hander pitched the final 4 2/3 innings, striking out five. He pitched out a bases-loaded jam in the 10th, getting a soft tapper back to him to extend the game.

“When teams start putting guys on base, it’s tough to be in the dugout, it’s tough to continually watch that,” Pawlowski said. “When you have a guy out there like Hubbard, he’s probably one of the most mentally tough pitchers we have on the team. He’s able to put that out of his mind and make good pitches.”

Auburn’s offense finally rewarded him in the 12th. With the bases loaded and one out, Mummey worked a full count before lacing a single to center off Matt Price (3-1).

“He had to leave me something to hit with the bases loaded,” Mummey said. “I was looking to stay on top and shoot it up the middle.”

Pawlowski debated pulling Hubbard but let the one-time starter finish things off. It was the longest relief outing of Hubbard’s career, surpassing the four innings he threw in a win against LSU earlier this season.

“Hub was maxing out at that point,” Pawlowski said. “When we scored, I said we’re going to run him out there. I asked him how he felt and he said he felt fine, he wanted to finish it so we ran him back out there.”

“I had one more inning every time,” Hubbard said.

Auburn’s still waiting for its offense to break out. The Tigers, who lead the league in average, runs, homers and slugging percentage by wide margins, have scored only four runs in 21 innings of tournament play, something Pawlowski chalked up to facing strong pitching.

“To win at a high level, to win in the postseason and Regionals, Super Regionals and Omaha, those are the type of people you have to beat,” he said. “I told our team if you want challenges, this is what postseason play is all about. It’s about being challenged every night.”