Butch Thompson knows that if he needs a pitcher to eat up innings for Auburn this season, he can turn to Cam Tilly. The sophomore right-hander has appeared in 14 games, 12 of them from the bullpen, while allowing 17 runs over 32 innings and striking out 41.

On Thursday, Tilly will get another shot at the starting role, his third in a row, as the Tigers host South Carolina and look to build on a series win at Tennessee last weekend.

"He's been wanting this opportunity for a long time," Thompson said.

In his previous two starts, both the last two weekends, Tilly lasted four innings while allowing three runs against Mississippi State, a game the Tigers eventually won 14-8. The Newburgh, Ind., native wasn't as lucky last Saturday, lasting just 2 2/3 innings after giving up two earned runs against the Volunteers.

"Hopefully this third time's a charm this weekend and he gets us off to a good start because that's important," Thompson said.

Samuel Dutton is usually responsible for starting the series off right for Thompson's squad, but a rain delay this past Friday moved his start to Saturday, and the early series start against the Bulldogs forced Thompson's hand. The coach isn't asking Tilly to get out of his comfort zone, but knows that he must improve his strike percentage to get the Tigers off to a good start.

"The stuff is undeniable," Thompson said. "If the delivery gets off timing, can he shorten those windows or gaps is huge for him. But I just want Cam to know that all we're asking for is for him to go through the lineup a couple of times and to try to go get strike one to get ahead and stay ahead."

Despite his lack of success in his first two starts, Thompson is as confident in the sophomore as ever.

"We believe in Cam, or we'd run somebody else out there or move Dutton up two days," he said.