Alabama begins its opening series against the Bradley University Braves on Friday. Head coach Rob Vaughn will look to improve in his second season with the Crimson Tide following a 33-24 season in 2024.
Bradley struggled last season, with a 13-37-1 record under head coach Elvis Dominguez in his 16th year at the helm. Here’s an inside look at how the teams line up against each other.
Pitching
Alabama will look to improve upon its pitching this season. The team had a 5.69 ERA last year, ranking in the SEC’s bottom half. Starting pitcher Ben Hess was drafted in the first round of the MLB draft by the New York Yankees, and starter Greg Farone went to the San Francisco Giants in the seventh round.
Zane Adams looks to take a step forward in his sophomore season. He finished third in starts last season with 13 and had a 4-5 record. Freshmen Jack Ketchum and Jackson Hunter are both top-150 pitcher recruits and will look to replace Hess and Farone’s production.
Bradley has no returning pitchers who had a winning record in 2024. The Braves also had a worse ERA (7.88) than Alabama, allowed the most runs in the Missouri Valley Conference (428) and surrendered the highest batting average (.312).
Fielding
Alabama was a middle-of-the-pack team for fielding in 2024. The squad ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in fielding percentage and double plays, but it had the fewest passed balls (3) and caught the most runners trying to steal (23).
Senior Will Hodo was second on the team for chances with 423 and had an impressive .988 fielding percentage. Sophomore infielder Justin Lebron led the team with 150 assists, but he also led with 11 errors.
Bradley ranked last in chances and putouts and second to last in errors and assists in the MVC. Junior IF Timmy O’Brien led the Braves with 383 chances and 346 putouts. Fellow junior IF Beau Durbin was first on the team with 11 errors.
Batting
Alabama finished top three in the SEC for batting average (.302) and top five for slugging percentage (.504), but the team struggled with scoring.
The Crimson Tide ranked in the bottom half of the conference in runs and RBIs. Besides doubles and triples, IF Gage Miller led the team in every major statistic for Alabama, but the Miami Marlins selected him in the third round of the MLB draft. Lebron was second on the team in batting at .338 and third in home runs with 12. Hodo was fourth on the team with 52 hits and 97 total bases.
Bradley ranked in the bottom half for every batting statistic for the MVC in 2024. Durbin led the team with a .358 batting average and 67 hits. O’Brien led the team with eight home runs and 43 RBIs.
Fans can tune to the Opening Day game Friday on SEC Network+ at 4 p.m. CT.
