AUBURN | Auburn will have its Bull back on the mound Friday.

Senior Cody Greenhill, who missed last weekend’s start with a foot injury, will start the opening game against Little Rock at Plainsman Park.

“It’s good to see Cody back out there,” said pitching coach Tim Hudson. “We threw a bullpen with him (Wednesday) and it seemed like he’s back chomping at the bit ready to go. He may not be on a full work load like he had been. He may be on a little bit of a pitch count. If he can get us in the fourth or fifth inning, that would be a tremendous for us.”

Greenhill, who moved from closer to starter for this season, held Oklahoma to three hits with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings before leaving with the injury. Auburn led 3-0 at the time, but the runner Greenhill left on base in the fifth scored and the Sooners wound up rallying for a 4-3 win in 10 innings.

"I think he was just starting to hit his stride a little bit and getting his pitch count up pretty good when he hurt his foot in Texas,” Hudson said. “We felt like he was about to start taking off for us.”

Getting Greenhill back on the mound means more to the team than just his strikeouts. Greenhill brings a mentality and leadership that is perfect to start off a series on a Friday night.

“He’s a pro. He’s work ethic is really good,” Hudson said. “He knows exactly what it takes for him to be ready. There’s not many guys around in this conference that’s tougher than him both mentally and physically. He’s kind of an old school throwback guy and a great leader of this team.”

Senior Jack Owen (dislocated finger) and junior Richard Fitts, who began the season as the Saturday starter are getting closer to returning too, which will give Hudson some tough decisions to make going into next weekend’s SEC opener at No. 4 Ole Miss.

Sophomore Trace Bright, who moved into the weekend rotation in week two, has been a standout with a 2-0 record, 1.12 ERA, 13 strikeouts and just three walks.

“Moving forward, Trace has done everything we’ve asked of him and he’s earned a spot. He’s earned the opportunity to keep a spot,” Hudson said.

Little Rock comes into its first-ever meeting against Auburn with a 5-5 record and winning 2-of-3 at North Alabama last weekend. The Tigers are 8-4 after losing 2-of-3 to No. 18 Boston College last weekend and bouncing back for a 6-5 comeback win at UAB Tuesday night.

Game times for the three-game series will be 4 p.m. CT Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Saturday’s game will air on SEC Network while Friday and Sunday’s will be on SECN+/ESPN+.