Butch Thompson is trusting in his ace to start the super regionals.

Auburn baseball’s head coach announced Thursday that Sam Dutton will take the mound to start Game 1 against Coastal Carolina Friday night.

Dutton has been the team’s top starting pitcher throughout the season, but hasn’t been the Game 1 the last four series, pitching behind Cam Tilly.

Dutton was the Game 1 starter for most of the season, but got in a rhythm of starting the second game once Auburn played three series in a row that started on a Thursday.

In 15 starts this season, Dutton leads Auburn’s starters with a 3.84 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 82 innings pitched. However, he has given up five or more runs in his past three starts, bringing his numbers down from what they were for most of the season.

Thompson told reporters on that he believes Dutton is fresher than he was at the end of the season, and that is showed in the regional against Stetson. The freshness comes after Dutton didn’t pitch during the SEC tournament, giving him a week off before the NCAA tournament.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m