It was the last thing the Auburn baseball team needed.

For the second year in a row, the Tigers were swept in their first Southeastern Conference series. This season’s 0-3 start to SEC play came at Florida. AU was outscored 25-11 in the series and lost every game by at least four runs.

But that wasn’t the worst part for Auburn head coach Tom Slater.

Slater said he thought his team was “out-energized” by the Gators. And he let his players know.

“Losing’s no fun,” he said. “I was disappointed — and we talked about it — in how we played.”

The message wasn’t a loud one, according to Slater.

“It wasn’t a temper thing,” he said. “Just a talk about playing the right way. I’m not going to make up some story about how I yelled and screamed.”

Still, the players got the message. Slater said the Tigers played with noticeably more intensity in their next game, a 6-4 comeback win at Troy on Tuesday.

“The kids played really well in Troy,” he said. “I was very pleased with the sense of urgency and effort.”

AU (12-8, 0-3 SEC) will need all that intensity — and a few breaks — to get back on track this weekend. The Tigers face No. 16 Kentucky, one of the nation’s hottest teams.

The Wildcats (19-0, 3-0) are fresh off a three-game sweep of Alabama. In addition to being the SEC’s lone undefeated team, UK leads the conference in runs, hits, batting average and team ERA.

And though Kentucky doesn’t get much respect in this week’s Baseball America, the Wildcats’ unbeaten start speaks for itself.

“Their record is pretty gaudy,” Slater said.

AU faculty and staff members will receive half-price admission to all three games this weekend with their university I.D. The first 500 fans at Sunday’s game will receive a free set of AU baseball training cards.

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