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Todd Van Emst/Auburn U.

Hey everyone.

The NCAA Tournament field was revealed Monday morning on ESPNU and John Pawlowski’s team wasn’t included. That’s not a shock.

The Tigers (31-28) earned series wins against postseason participants Ole Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State and LSU. Still, getting swept by a terrible Alabama team and a solid-at-best Georgia team provided blights that simply couldn’t be overcome.

Now the question becomes: Is Pawlowski’s time at Auburn nearing an end? It’s not like the program is flailing. And several of the team’s 2012 signees (OF David Dahl, SS Addison Russell, OF Sam Gillikin and P/1B Rock Rucker) are beastly players who have the potential to dominate in the SEC. They’re also coveted MLB prospects. Who will actually play at Auburn?

Recruiting aside, Pawlowski is 134-103 in four seasons with the Tigers. He is 58-62 in SEC games. Those numbers probably won’t at the top of Pawlowski’s agenda when he meets with athletic director Jay Jacobs during the next few weeks.

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Hey everyone.

Auburn’s Big Cat Weekend 2012 already has yielded its first return. TE A.J. Jackson, who also is known as Arshad Jackson, accepted an offer this afternoon. He’s a 6-foot-6, 235-pound kid who doesn’t have a huge reputation at the moment.

Still, he’s a junior at Lovejoy (Ga.) High and big things are expected of him this fall. He has the raw athleticism to have a big season and emerge as a 4-star guy ahead of National Signing Day.

Jackson also has written offers from Arkansas, Missouri, Clemson and South Carolina among others.

Dave Martin/AP

Hey everyone.

Auburn’s run in the SEC Tournament ended this afternoon after one win and two losses. The team is 31-28 with an RPI in the mid-50s. I don’t think the team’s resume is strong enough to dictate inclusion into the NCAA Tournament, but that’s not my call. The field will be announced on ESPN Monday morning.

Here’s what went down today:

• Coach John Pawlowski’s decisions related to his rotation Thursday were curious. He went with senior Cory Luckie against South Carolina because he’s a soft-tosser. True to form, the Prattville native’s fastball topped out at 81 mph. Still, USC scored two runs off Luckie during the first two innings. That created an important advantage.

• Slade Smith relieved Luckie in the third inning and promptly allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings of work. Not his best performance. South Carolina led 5-0 in the fifth inning.

• Derek Varnadore and Justin Bryant, as expected, were very good during the final four innings. They threw hard. They made the Gamecocks uncomfortable.

• If Pawlowski was committed to using Varnadore on Thursday, why not start him? Why not maximize Varnadore and Bryant during the first 4-6 innings and worry about things after that? I asked Pawlowski about it afterward. He didn’t answer the question.

• Hits from Dan Glevenyak (5th inning), Creede Simpson (6th inning) and Bryant (8th inning) scored one run apiece. I really thought Auburn was D-O-N-E after falling behind 5-0, but it wasn’t. It rallied.

• The 7th inning was a killer for Auburn. It had runners on first and second base with no out — and didn’t score. That’s a cardinal sin when playing from behind against a team like South Carolina.

• Let the waiting begin.

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Todd Van Emst/Auburn U.

Hey everyone.

So the Tigers won themselves a game here in Hoover. That’s a very good thing for their NCAA Tournament hopes, which remain on the rocks. Still, every win helps. Auburn (31-27) probably needs to beat either Vanderbilt or South Carolina on Thursday to feel good about what happens after Hoover.

That story is for another day. Here’s a look at what happened Wednesday:

• Justin Bryant hit a solo homer in the third inning that ultimately provided the winning margin. He also quelled a Georgia uprising in the eighth inning with a strikeout. He loaded the bases during the ninth inning, but coaxed a fly ball to outfielder Bobby Andrews to end the drama. Bryant got the save — and his homer played a big role in the win as well.

• C Caleb Bowen blocked four balls in the dirt during the final two at-bats Wednesday. Each of those plays were huge. With the tying run at third base, one wild pitch to the backstop would have eliminated the Tigers’ lead.

• SP Daniel Koger allowed the first two batters of the game to reach base, but settled in after that. His fastball topped out at 88 mph, though his high-70s sliders were more lethal to the Georgia hitters. They kept trying to lift them for long hits. Most ended up in the gloves of outfielders Ryan Tella and Jay Gonzalez.

• RP Derek Varnadore hit 93 mph Wednesday. Most pitches were in the 90-91 range. Still, he needed 41 pitches to get seven outs. Coach John Pawlowski decided to use Varnadore as a reliever against Georgia because he wanted to win the game. I get that. Still, couldn’t a classically trained reliever have managed to keep Georgia at bay with a three-run lead? Now the Tigers enter today’s game with no real starter from which to choose.

• Georgia had the tying run on third base with one out in the ninth inning Wednesday. I expected a squeeze play. Georgia instead led designated hitter Brett DeLoach swing away. He grounded out to shortstop. Odd decision, poor outcome for Georgia. (Everyone in the Auburn dugout expected a bunt as well.)

• The Tigers resume play Thursday afternoon against the loser of Wednesday night’s Vanderbilt-South Carolina game. Auburn was swept at home by USC and dropped two of three at Vanderbilt.

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Todd Van Emst/Auburn U.

Hey everyone.

The Tigers didn’t fare so well in Hoover today. Florida, currently ranked No. 3 by Baseball America, pitched very well and accomplished enough at the plate. Let’s just work through this in bullet form.

• Auburn finished with three hits. One of them traveled beyond the infield.

• SP Jon Luke Jacobs allowed five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings, but those numbers are a little deceptive. He actually pitched pretty well overall. He threw a hanging slider to Florida OF Justin Shafer in the second inning that scored two runs. A fastball to 2B Casey Turgeon went to the wall and scored two more runs.

• Jacobs’ fastball was in the 83-85 range for the most part. He threw one pitch at 87.

• Florida SP Jonathon Crawford was in the 89-91 range for the most part. He hit 93 a few times. His slider and occasional curveball really flummoxed the Tigers.

• Jacobs said his top priority was to keep Florida sluggers Preston Tucker and Mike Zunino from having a huge impact at the plate. He accomplished that; the duo combined to go 1-for-7 with 1 RBI.

• So who did the damage Tuesday? Turgeon (No. 6 hitter) and Shafer (No. 8 hitter). It happens.

• Auburn (30-27) probably hasn’t done enough to make the NCAA Tournament field as it stands now. The team probably needs two more wins to avoid anxiety. Wednesday’s game (against Vanderbilt or Georgia) will begin at 4:30 p.m.

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