One of the unique aspects of attending an Alabama baseball game at Sewell-Thomas Stadium is hearing the hollers and chants echoing out of right field.
The smell of beer, snacks and fresh-cut grass wafts through the air as students sprawl out on blankets and in lawn chairs on the vast space provided by “The Joe’s” right-field terrace.
“Right Field Rangers” is the adopted name for The University of Alabama baseball student section. Their noise and excitement create a noticeable home-field advantage for the Crimson Tide.
Head coach Rob Vaughn shared his affinity for the Rangers last season after coaching his first home game at the school.
“To hear the fan support, to see the students show up the way they did, that’s a really neat thing,” he said.
Captain of last year’s team Evan Sleight echoed Vaughn’s sentiment when talking about his first experience playing at The Joe.
“When I ran out to right field for warmups, I kind of got chills. I got emotional seeing all of those people out there,” he said. “We hope that they can keep coming and keep showing support because it really goes a long way for us. We can really feel it.”
The Rangers are notorious for their vicious treatment of opposing right fielders, heckling their way throughout each contest in an attempt to throw those RFs off their game.
“It is easy to distract players in the outfield,” junior political science major Madison Allen said. “It’s a blast to heckle the other team throughout the game.”
Vaughn’s message to fans this season is to “hop on the bandwagon now,” urging fans not to wait until later in the season to start coming to games but to “show up tomorrow night at 4 o’clock rowdy.”
The Crimson Tide and the Right Field Rangers will return to action at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Friday versus Bradley at 4 p.m. CT. The game can be streamed on SEC Network+.
