Taylor Thompson isn’t sure how to spell the name of the pitch that has turned around his season.

“We call it the fosh — it’s a weird name for it,” the Auburn pitcher said after Wednesday’s 10-2 win against Mississippi Valley State.

The pitch, which Thompson learned from Auburn pitching coach Butch Thompson and used effectively Wednesday, is a bit of a mystery. Taylor Thompson doesn’t know if any major leaguers throw the pitch, or where Butch Thompson learned it.

But one thing is for certain: It’s effective. The fosh —a variant of the split-finger fastball — complements Thompson’s four-seam fastball and helps him throw his sweeping slider for strikes.

And it’s doing wonders for his confidence.

“It’s really helped me pitch better and it’s helped with my mindset,” he said.

Thompson’s new repertoire baffled MVSU’s hitters Wednesday, as the sophomore threw three perfect innings in relief, with four strikeouts.

It was his third appearance since adding the fosh. And judging by Wednesday’s results, he’s close to mastering it.

“He’s really improving, doing a good job,” Auburn head coach Tom Slater said. “Taylor pitched well tonight, and it was fun to watch. … The fosh is giving him swing-and-misses.”

Mississippi Valley State (13-14) took a 1-0 lead in the first off Auburn starter Cory Luckie.

But Auburn (22-12) regained the lead in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run by freshman first baseman Hunter Morris. It was the start of a big day for Auburn’s offense, which reached double digits for the 11th times this season.

Freshman catcher Tony Caldwell, who started in place of Ryan Jenkins, went 4-for-4, scored three runs and drove in another. The big day raised Caldwell’s batting average a whopping 85 points, from .171 at the start of the game to .256.

“Tony’s been swinging the bat real well,” Slater said. “His average didn’t really reflect that prior to tonight, but he’s been so productive in all his at-bats.”

Luckie (4-3), Auburn’s Saturday starter, threw one inning in a warmup start before turning things over to the bullpen.

In Tuesday’s 9-6 win against Georgia State, six Auburn pitchers combined to issue 10 walks. After that game, pitching coach Butch Thompson put his pitchers through 20 minutes of sprints to reinforce the message that free passes aren’t acceptable.

Judging by Wednesday’s results, the message came through. Reliever Bradley Hendrix was the only one of four AU pitchers to issue a walk Tuesday.

Sophomore Michael Hurst relieved Thompson to start the eighth and threw two perfect innings.

“That was much better,” Slater said. “Those guys really threw the ball well, every one of them: Lots of strikes, and that’s what we’re looking for.”

Auburn opens a three-game Southeastern Conference series against South Carolina at Plainsman Park on Friday.

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