The Alabama baseball team finished off its two fall exhibition games against Lipscomb and Clemson with a split, taking down the Bisons 13-2 and falling to the Tigers 8-3. Here are the takeaways from those two games.
Eric Hines, the true freshman outfielder from Tuscaloosa, who was ranked the No. 43 overall prospect in the nation according to Perfect Game, got a hold of one on Saturday and launched his first collegiate home run with an exit velocity of 111 mph against the Tigers.
Hines is poised for a breakout season; the ball just jumps off his bat, and against the Bisons, he showed off his athleticism in the field, making a beautiful sliding catch in left field to save a run.
“You watch Eric Hines hit a baseball; not many guys can do what he does,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “Not many make Justin [Lebron] ‘ooh and awe’ behind the plate, and Eric does.”
Myles Upchurch, a fellow true freshman, the No. 78-ranked prospect in the nation and No. 2 out of Maryland according to Perfect Game, looked unhittable in his first collegiate action against the Bisons. Upchurch navigated through two perfect innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced. Upchurch made his case to potentially be the Crimson Tide’s Sunday starter behind Zane Adams and Tyler Fay.
“Myles Upchurch, that guy seems like a pretty slam dunk dude to compete for that spot,” Vaughn said.
The Crimson Tide acquired 11 players via the transfer portal in the offseason, and four of those transfers made an instant impact. Brennan Holt, who transferred from South Alabama, played second base for the Crimson Tide but has played all around the diamond in his collegiate career, including all three outfield positions, third base, shortstop and second base.
Logen Devenport, an outfielder, transferred from Northern Kentucky and had three hits in two games, including a pair of doubles. Justin Osterhouse, the Purdue-Fort Wayne transfer, has played every position except catcher and pitcher in college. He crushed his first home run as a member of the Crimson Tide against the Bisons and had three RBIs.
Sam Christiansen, the Oklahoma transfer, has played all three outfield positions and first base. He had a couple of doubles in his first action with the Crimson Tide. Last year with the Sooners in 55 games, Christiansen hit .255, with a .921 OPS, six home runs and 31 RBIs.
Another transfer, relief pitcher Kaden Humphrey, who played at North Florida the past two seasons, pitched two scoreless innings against the Bisons with four strikeouts and should be a key contributor in the Crimson Tide’s bullpen.
Jason Torres, who was the Crimson Tide’s everyday third baseman last year, was playing first base in the exhibition games, which could foreshadow what his everyday role will be come February. Torres also had a pair of singles against the Bisons in the Crimson Tide’s first exhibition game.
Matthew Heiberger, who was a key member of the Crimson Tide’s bullpen last year, had a great summer in the Cape Cod League and could potentially make the jump to the rotation this year.
In the summer, Heiberger pitched in seven games and two starts, posting a 2.28 ERA across 23.2 innings with 22 strikeouts and a 0.93 WHIP. The key to Heiberger’s success was his secondary pitches taking a big jump this summer, landing him at No. 96 on D1 Baseball’s top 100 college draft prospects list.
“Matthew Heiberger showed us he’s got the ability to start in the Cape, and the secondary stuff has taken a massive jump,” Vaughn said. “The breaking ball’s way better, the changes up’s way better.”
Last but not least, star shortstop Justin Lebron, who is No. 2 on D1 Baseball’s top 100 college draft prospects, continued where he left off last season, launching a two-run home run in his first at-bat of the fall. Lebron is positioned to be the highest draft pick ever out of the University of Alabama when his career with the Crimson Tide is all said and done.
The question all Crimson Tide fans are asking themselves is if the team has what it takes to punch its ticket to Omaha and the College World Series and break a 26-year-long drought. That obviously remains to be seen, but it seems like there is no better time than now to break the drought, with Lebron arguably the best baseball player in Crimson Tide history in what is likely his last year with the program before declaring for the MLB Draft in July.
“We have to get a lot better between now and February, but it was a good barometer of where we’re at this point in the fall,” Vaughn said.
