Alabama got off to a 3-0 start to the season after an Opening Weekend series against Bradley.
Game 1: Alabama 10, Bradley 6
Alabama made easy work of Bradley to start the season, winning 10-6.
The Braves got out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a 3-run homer by designated hitter Bobby Atkinson. However, Alabama was able to bounce back. Shortstop Justin Lebron got a double with the bases loaded, driving in 3 runs in the bottom of the second. Lebron got another RBI in the fourth and sixth innings, adding to his dominant performance.
For Lebron, it was important to shift the momentum early on in the game in order to get the win.
“As we say a lot, two out and outs are backbreakers, and it really does shift the momentum when we are down,” Lebron said. “We were able to get some hits and set the momentum going forward.”
After the slow start from pitcher Zane Adams in the first, he responded with three straight scoreless innings. Alabama’s bullpen held on strong until the ninth inning, when Ariston Veasey allowed 2 runs to score with the bases loaded to make the score 10-6 after Bradley added another run earlier in the inning. However, Carson Ozmer came in to clinch the save for the Crimson Tide with a game-winning strikeout.
After the game, head coach Rob Vaughn stressed the importance of rotating through pitchers to help find ways to win.
“I think there’s a lot of useful arms down in that pen, and I think we saw that tonight,” Vaughn said. “You saw Connor Ball come in and grab his two lefties and did his job and turned over to Tyler Fay, came in and did his job. It was just guys coming in and doing their job.”
Game 2: Alabama 19, Bradley 3
The Crimson Tide improved to 2-0 on the season as pitcher Riley Quick made his anticipated return from Tommy John surgery in the 19-3 victory.
“More than anything, you’re just really happy for that kid,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “He had to battle through that last year and has done nothing but work his tail off to get back out there.”
Quick struck out two batters in the first as he worked around a one-out double by infielder Beau Durbin that was initially called a home run but was overturned after further review.
A wild pitch from Bradley opened the scoring for Alabama, making it 1-0. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, infielder Garrett Staton delivered a two-out single to make it 3-0.
Quick worked into and out of trouble in the top half of the second but got his third strikeout of the game to strand a pair of runners. After Alabama went scoreless in the second, Quick put down the Braves 1-2-3 in the top half of the third.
Lebron and outfielder Will Hodo led off the top of the third inning with back-to-back singles followed by a first baseman Jason Torres RBI single to make it 4-0.
Outfielder Kade Snell found the right-center gap for a 2-run double to make it 6-0 in the bottom of the third inning. Designated Hitter Coleman Mizell, who picked up his first hit and RBI of the season, and Will Plattner, who picked up his first RBI of the season, brought the game to 8-0.
Bradley looked like it was going to get out of the inning without allowing any more runs, but an error at shortstop allowed the 6th run of the inning to come across to score to make it 9-0 Crimson Tide.
Reliever Hagan Banks replaced Quick in the top of the fourth. Quick’s final line was three innings pitched, no runs allowed, two hits and four strikeouts on 50 pitches.
Banks came in with a 1-2-3 inning with 2 strikeouts in the top of the 4th inning in his season debut. Staton hit his 1st home run of the season in the form of a grand slam to make it 13-0 Crimson Tide.
On the next at bat, Mizell picked up his first HR of the season making the score 14-0.
“I was just trying to get a pitch I can drive. I love hitting with people on base, so I went out there ready to hit and fought off a couple tough pitches and didn’t want to miss that one,” Stanton said.
A 6-run third inning followed by a 5-run fourth helped gain momentum, and with a 14-0 lead, the Crimson Tide never looked back.
The final four innings of this game allowed Vaughn to give most of his regular starters the rest of the day off. Players like Sean Griggs, JoJo Williamson, Peyton Steele, Jon Young Jr., and Andre Modugno got the opportunity to pinch-hit and see their first live game action of the season.
Finateri pitched one inning with one strikeout, allowing two hits and 2 unearned runs because of the errors that started the eighth inning.
Freshman Anthony Pesci pitched the ninth, making his collegiate debut. To close the game out, Pesci retired Bradley in order, and the Crimson Tide improved to 2-0 on the season.
Game 3: Alabama 11, Bradley 4 (final in 8)
Alabama completed its sweep of Bradley with an 11-4 win in Game 3. Bradley got out to another early lead in the first inning thanks to an Atkinson single, but the Crimson Tide responded with dominance, scoring at least 1 run in every inning.
Third baseman Jason Torres led the way for Alabama. Torres had 5 RBIs and was a double shy from hitting the cycle. Outfielder Bryce Fowler went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs, in addition to his two stolen bases.
Torres felt like the pitches were coming in easy for him.
“I saw the ball good all weekend,” Torres said. “I was trying to put the ball over the scoreboard all weekend, and the last two at bats I was trying to put it over the batter’s eye.”
Recent transfer Bobby Alcock got the starting pitching job for the game. He only lasted 3.1 innings but had three strikeouts and did not allow any earned runs. Alabama relied on their bullpen again, bringing in five pitchers, who only allowed 2 earned runs over 4.2 innings.
As Vaughn stressed after Friday’s game, the team cannot underestimate the bullpen’s importance.
“I think one of the strengths of this team … is the depth of the pitching staff,” Vaughn said. “There’s not too many guys throwing 100, but there’s different looks, different pitchers and different stuff coming out.”
