Alabama baseball is off to an electric start for the 2025 season, at 19-1. Yet the team’s biggest challenge so far this season will be its series against the Tennessee Volunteers, which starts on Thursday.
The Volunteers are the reigning national champs, and the No. 2 team in the country. Alabama currently ranks at No. 12.
Here’s a look at how each team compares.
Hitting
Alabama’s offense has been on fire this season. The team is batting .333, which is third in the SEC, with six starters batting above .300. Shortstop Justin Lebron leads the nation in home runs with 12, and the team is third in the SEC with 44. Alabama has also scored double-digit runs in 12 games this season, compared to 10 all of last year. The Crimson Tide is second in the country with 197 RBIs, with 45 coming from Lebron, who leads the nation.
Tennessee leads the SEC in almost every major batting statistic. The Volunteers are first in batting average (.338), runs (218), RBIs (202), home runs (51) and slugging percentage (.672).
They have had 12 out of their 19 wins be decided by 10 or more runs and have mercy-ruled in nine out of those 12. Infielder Levi Clark leads the SEC in batting average at .458, while infielder Gavin Kilder is third with .444.
Tennessee has more batting depth than Alabama, with seven batters hitting above .300 and three pinch hitters batting above .400.
Pitching
Alabama’s pitching this season has so far improved from last, with the team being in the top half of the SEC in ERA at 3.30.
Following a season-ending surgery in 2024, sophomore Riley Quick has put up a 1.33 ERA across five games. Sophomore Zane Adams has also been critical to the start of the season, with a 3.00 ERA across five games.
Alabama will have to rely on both of those sophomores to shut down a firepower Tennessee offense that leads the SEC in batting average with .338. In addition, Alabama relief pitchers Tyler Fay (0.73) and Carson Ozmer (0.87) are in the top 10 in ERA for the SEC.
Like the batting stats, Tennessee also leads the SEC in almost every major statistic for pitching.
The Volunteers have the lowest ERA (1.76) and the most hits (96), runs (40), earned runs (30) and walks (50). Relief pitcher Nate Snead has the lowest ERA at 0.53, while starter Liam Doyle is second with 0.72.
Tennessee’s relief pitching has been much more consistent than Alabama’s, with the Volunteers’ highest runs in a game allowed only being 9 versus Radford, compared to Alabama, which has allowed double digit runs three times this season.
Doyle also leads the SEC in strikeouts with 53 and is second in the SEC with 17 of those strikeouts looking. Tennessee’s other starter, junior Marcus Phillips, has also been outstanding. He has achieved a 1.04 ERA across five games while striking out 32 batters, which puts him just outside the top 10 in punch outs.
The first game in this series will be in Tuscaloosa on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT. Fans can stream the game on ESPNU.
