Tag: Rob Vaughn

Week 10 USA TODAY Sports ranks Alabama baseball No. 14 in the country

USA TODAY Coaches Poll ranks Alabama baseball No.14 in the nation

In his first year with the Alabama Crimson Tide, head baseball coach Rob Vaughn is certainly making a strong impression on the Tuscaloosa faithful as he has guided the Tide to a 24-13 record so far this season. Alabama is one of the best teams in the country, but the record can be a bit deceiving. The SEC is just simply a gauntlet as the Tide are 6-9 in conference on the year, however, they are very good at home with an 18-5 record at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

On Tuesday, USA TODAY Sports released their Week 10 coaches poll for men’s college baseball and they have the Crimson Tide ranked at No. 14 in the country. The ranking comes on the heels of a crucial 2-1 series victory against the No. 1 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. The Tide have various rankings depending on the website you look at with D1 ranking Alabama down at No. 18 in the country. Unfortunately, later in the day, Alabama dropped a game in Tuscaloosa against in-state rival the UAB Blazers.

The Tide will need to respond quick though as they take on the No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies in Tuscaloosa this weekend in a three-game series starting on Thursday.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

TJ McCants slugs Alabama baseball to 15-7 win at Alabama State

Alabama uses a three home run performance from TJ McCants to power past Alabama State

No. 10 Alabama made the trip to Montgomery on Tuesday night to take on Alabama State for a midweek matchup against the Hornets. The Crimson Tide would come away with a 15-7 win while improving to 18-3 on the season.

The Crimson Tide was led by center fielder [autotag]TJ McCants[/autotag] who recorded a 4-for-4 night that included a double, three home runs, six RBI, four runs scored, and one walk as he reached in all five plate appearances.

Freshman Zane Adams took home the win for the Tide after allowing just one run in three innings pitched.

Following Alabama’s win, head coach [autotag]Rob Vaughn[/autotag] had the following to say about his team’s performance:

“Our bats were okay early, but TJ kind of let us breathe a little bit. Those were some unbelievable at-bats out of him. He drove the baseball and did some big things at the plate. He contributed a bunch of RBI and added some runs up there for us, which was huge. TJ was just phenomenal and we needed that on a night like tonight, just to create a little room for us and get us going.”

Alabama will travel to Athens this weekend to take on the Georiga Bulldogs who were swept by Kentucky last weekend to open SEC play.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Alabama baseball defeats No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday night to even the series

Alabama baseball ends Tennessee’s 17-game winning streak!

After dropping game one of the three-game series on Friday night, Rob Vaughn and No. 14 Alabama defeated No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday night 6-3 to even the series at one game a piece.

Alabama jumped out front early with one run in the first, two in the second, and three in the third to build a six-run advantage after three full innings. With the hot start at the plate and solid pitching throughout, the Tide was able to end the Vols’ 17-game winning streak.

Following the win, head coach Rob Vaughn had the following to say:

“It was a good night for us tonight, but it’s going to be a quick turnaround tomorrow. We have to come out and get ready for a big punch from a talented and emotional group in that other dugout and (Tennessee) is going to come out swinging early. We’ll have to weather the storm and swing back, and it’s going to be a heck of a game tomorrow.”

The rubber match of the series will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama baseball team as the season progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Alabama baseball sweeps Lipscomb with offensive clinic

Alabama baseball improves to 15-1 with series sweep of Lipscomb

No. 13 Alabama blew past Lipscomb this weekend in Tuscaloosa with an offensive outburst against the Bisons. Thanks to inclement weather, Friday night’s contest was moved to Saturday to form a doubleheader.

The Crimson Tide took game one of the series in exciting fashion, winning 20-13. In the nightcap of the doubleheader, Alabama would once again find success at the plate, winning game two 10-1.

Alabama would complete the series sweep on Sunday afternoon from a beautiful Sewell-Thomas Stadium with a 10-5 victory over the Bisons.

Following the sweep, Coach Rob Vaughn had the following to say about his team’s weekend performance:

“Beating anybody three times is tough, especially when you’re trying to do it in a 24-hour window. That’s a veteran lineup (in Lipscomb) that gave us some fits and would just never go away. That’s a credit to their staff and their entire team. That’s a good group that’s been around the block, and their record doesn’t reflect it yet, but those guys are going to give other teams fits.”

With the series sweep, Alabama improved to 15-1 on the season. The Crimson Tide will have Monday off before traveling to Hattiesburg to take Southern Miss on Tuesday night.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to monitor the Alabama baseball team as the season progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

Alabama baseball earns midweek win over Middle Tennessee

Alabama baseball improves to 4-0 with a 6-1 win over MTSU on Tuesday night!

The Alabama baseball team has started the 2024 season 4-0 after defeating Middle Tennessee 6-1 on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama would strike first scoring two runs in the third inning before Middle Tennessee answered back with a run of their own in the top of the fourth. The Tide would add another run in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead to 3-1 entering the sixth.

What sealed the victory for the Tide was late offense in the seventh and eighth innings where they scored three more runs and extended the lead to 6-1.

Junior pitcher Braylon Myers closed the game out for Alabama tossing two scoreless innings to earn his first save of the season.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama baseball team as the season progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Alabama baseball earns series sweep over Manhattan to begin the Rob Vaughn era

The Rob Vaughn era of Alabama baseball gets off to a hot start

There is just something special about the opening weekend of the college baseball season. It could be because baseball signifies that spring is just around the corner and warmer weather is headed this way, but regardless of the reason, this time of year is always fun.

For the new era of Alabama baseball under the leadership of Rob Vaughn, you could not have planned a better opening weekend. On Sunday, the Crimson Tide completed the series sweep of Manhattan with an 11-8 victory over the Jaspers.

After Sunday’s win, Coach Vaughn had the following to say:

“What I really look for as a coach is the level of energy that we bring (on Sunday). Today was a really cold morning and it is easy, especially after winning a game 15-0, to show up hoping that the other team just rolls over, but I don’t think our guys did that today. Our energy was great, I just don’t think we played an awesome brand of baseball defensively. But that is why you have some of these early games, to kind of get that going, and we did enough offensively to get the win.”

With the win on Sunday, No. 17 Alabama improved to 3-0 on the young season and will host a pair of midweek games this week. First, Alabama will welcome Middle Tennessee on Tuesday before hosting Alabama State on Wednesday.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the progress of Coach Vaughn and the baseball team throughout the season.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Alabama baseball picks up first win in season-opener against Manhattan

The Alabama baseball team secured its first win of the 2024 season against Manhattan on Friday. The Crimson Tide will return to “The Joe” for Game 2 of the series on Saturday afternoon.

It did not take long for Rob Vaughn to pick up his first win as the head baseball coach at the University of Alabama. On Friday evening, the Crimson Tide defeated Manhattan, 4-0.

Alabama’s productivity on the mound was key in the season-opener. Junior pitcher Ben Hess started for the Crimson Tide and was exceptional in his first outing.

Hess pitched four innings and struck out nine batters. He allowed one hit and walked two.

He was relieved by junior Hagan Banks. The Georgia native worked 2 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and one walk. He struck out five.

Junior pitcher Braylon Myers closed with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball.

Offensively, Alabama was led by newcomers Ian Petrutz and Evan Sleight. the two combined to drive in two runs and go 3-7 at the plate. Junior first baseman Will Hodo also drove in one.

Other players who had hits were TJ McCants (2) and Justin Lebron (1).

Alabama will return to Sewell-Thomas Stadium to take on Manhattan in Game 2 of the series. First pitch for Saturday’s matchup is scheduled for 2 p.m. CST. The game is scheduled to be carried on the SEC Network+.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding the Alabama baseball program.

New Alabama Baseball coach, Rob Vaughn, receives his first contract

Alabama Athletics announces contract for new baseball coach, Rob Vaughn.

After the departure of Brad Bohannon, the Alabama Baseball program went on to make an outstanding postseason run that ended one series shy of the College World Series. Assistant coach Jason Jackson stepped in for Bohannon after their series with LSU and immediately led Alabama to series wins over No. 5 Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss before walking their way through the Tuscaloosa regional. The fairy tale run ended against No. 1 Wake Forest in the NCAA Super Regional, but given the circumstances, what Jackson did was remarkable.

Jackson was then in contention to take the position over full-time, but Alabama was able to steal Rob Vaughn, a highly-touted 35-year-old, away from Maryland. Vaughn led the Terrapins to back-to-back regular season Big Ten titles in 2022 and 2023 as well as winning the 2023 Big Ten tournament. He was subsequently named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 and was set to have interest from schools all across the country.

Vaughn met with the Athletic Department today and the board to discuss his contract as they signed him to a five-year deal worth $900,000 annually. Fortunately for Vaughn and the Tide, Jackson will still be with the Alabama program in 2024.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Alabama Baseball lands commitment from Maryland transfer Ian Petrutz

The Alabama baseball program received some huge news on Tuesday as Maryland transfer Ian Petrutz announced that he was transferring to the Crimson Tide!

Maryland transfer Ian Petrutz announced that he was transferring to Alabama on Tuesday. Petrutz becomes the second transfer that newly-hired, Alabama head Rob Vaughn has brought in. The other was Rutgers transfer Evan Sleight.

Petrutz spent two seasons in College Park. The New Jersey native had a stellar freshman campaign with the Terrapins. Petrutz held a .324 batting average while hitting nine home runs and driving in 35 runs.

As a sophomore, Petrutz amassed a .270 batting average to go along with 14 home runs and 56 runs batted in.

Petrutz is productive at the plate and has proven that he can do it consistently. In 92 career games, he has struck out just 45 times. Along with that, he has earned 62 walks.

An interesting thing to point out is that Vaughn recruited Petrutz out of high school. Now, the two will be reunited and will be working together to help build something special in Tuscaloosa.

Petrutz’s addition is huge considering that outfielder Tommy Seidl graduated and Andrew Pinckney is contemplating whether to enter the MLB Draft or return to college.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama baseball program.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[mm-video type=video id=01h0nf3813y7386fds8s playlist_id=01eqbz6mkdd99nyvkm player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01h0nf3813y7386fds8s/01h0nf3813y7386fds8s-16390be26bf2fa208eea4b002e6f8864.jpg]

Alabama Baseball hiring former Maryland staffer as assistant coach

The Alabama baseball team is hiring former Maryland assistant coach Anthony Papio as a full-time assistant coach for the Crimson Tide.

The Alabama baseball program is hiring former Maryland assistant coach Anthony Papio as a full-time assistant coach on Rob Vaughn’s staff.

Papio played for the Terrapins from 2012-2016. Following his playing career, Papio went into coaching. In 2017, he was serving as a student assistant coach with the Terrapins. After five years of fulfilling that role, Papio became a full-time assistant coach.

Over the course of his coaching career, Papio has helped coach the outfielders and has coordinated the Terps’ running game, according to Maryland’s official website.

Papio will be the second full-time Alabama assistant hired to Rob Vaughn’s staff. The other is former Alabama interim head coach Jason Jackson. Jackson will return to serve as the team’s pitching coach as well as being the team’s associate head coach.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama baseball program.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[mm-video type=video id=01h0nf3813y7386fds8s playlist_id=01eqbz6mkdd99nyvkm player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01h0nf3813y7386fds8s/01h0nf3813y7386fds8s-16390be26bf2fa208eea4b002e6f8864.jpg]