Auburn coach John Pawlowski says his Tigers have shown the propensity to come back from losses all season, and he’s hoping they’ll do it again Thursday in the SEC Tournament.

The Tigers have little choice but to try after Alabama shut down the league’s top offensive team in a 7-1 victory in the tournament’s first game Wednesday.

We blogged about that loss earlier and did live updates during the game. Birmingham News writer and Alabama beat guy Don Kausler Jr. has the Crimson Tide’s take here.

Auburn is now thinking about Game Two.

“The guys will come out and be ready to play,” Pawlowski predicted.

The Tigers played enough comeback baseball during the regular season to win the SEC West, and didn’t lose two straight games in their last seven conference series. The Tigers, who were making their first SEC Tournament appearance since 2003, are 39-19 overall.

Auburn will play the loser of today’s second game between Ole Miss and South Carolina at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. The Tigers swept Ole Miss last weekend. South Carolina beat Auburn two out of three games early in the SEC season.

“We’ve done a good job rebounding from every loss this season, and that comes from the maturity of this team,” said first baseman Hunter Morris.

Pawlowski said he’ll pitch Grant Dayton, who is 8-2, on Thursday. Dayton was named to the All-SEC second team on Tuesday.

“He’s certainly a guy we’re confident in,” Pawlowski said. “He’s a mature pitcher and understands the magnitude of the game.”

Auburn will be looking for more offensive punch than it showed against Alabama starter Jimmy Nelson, who threw a complete-game five-hitter.

“Nelson was outstanding,” Pawlowski said. “We never had a chance to get anything going.”

Morris, the SEC Player of the Year, went 0-for-4 against him.

“He did a great job from Pitch One,” Morris said. “Even when we had better swings, they were able to play defense.”

Auburn starter Cory Luckie suffered the loss, though he allowed only one earned run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Alabama scored five runs in the final three innings.

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