Alabama Baseball's Revamped Outfield Continuing Production at the Plate
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The Alabama baseball roster underwent significant turnover on the offensive side of the ball. After an incredible postseason run last summer that culminated in the program's first appearance in a super regional in more than a decade, the entire starting outfield moved on.
Whomever manned left in 2024 would be replacing Tommy Seidl, a solid hitter with underrated defense whose experience proved invaluable. In center, someone had to take over for the speedy Caden Rose, who went all out on the basepaths and in the field and boasted sneaky power in his bat. The 2023 right fielder, Andrew Pinckney, was one of the best players in the SEC.
The three players tasked with manning the outfield at Sewell-Thomas Stadium and beyond on an everyday basis are completely new to the team. That has not stopped them from picking up where their predecessors left off, becoming one of the best offensive position groups on new head coach Rob Vaughn's first Crimson Tide team.
"I think the thing I love about it is, I feel like it's a different one [outfielder] every time," Vaughn said. "Those are three kids that have had a ton of college at-bats."
On Sunday, No. 15 Alabama (15-1) won its third game in approximately 27 hours to complete a sweep over Lipscomb and extend its unbeaten home mark. Left fielder Ian Petrutz, a transfer from Maryland, had three runs batted in. So did right fielder Evan Sleight, the team captain and Rutgers transfer who wears the number three on his jersey.
Sleight has 19 hits and 15 RBIs in 59 at-bats. He spent the last two games of the Lipscomb series batting in the cleanup spot, to significant effect. "Ev's been about as consistent [as possible] no matter where I hit him in the lineup," Vaughn said. "You just know you're gonna get a quality at-bat."
"I just try to get up and take each situation as it is, one pitch at a time," said Sleight. "Each situation's different. [I] try to digest it before I get up to the plate, and really try to do what I can for the team. Just do a job, is what I try to do every at-bat."
Petrutz had been up and down at the plate over the last few games going into Sunday's contest. He proceeded to record three hits, pushing his batting average to .317 and equaling his fellow corner outfielder's total hits tally. He said communication has improved as the schedule progresses.
"Having Evan behind me, I think me and him communicate really well," he said. "TJ [McCants], having TJ in front of me, he's able to engage. They both see the ball unbelievably well. That kinda helps me, being in the three hole. I'm able to just talk to them."
McCants plays center field, and has proven adept at it, but his bat has shone in the early going. He has hit in all 16 games, good for a .373 average and effective enough overall to place him at a close second on the team in RBIs (23). Only third baseman Gage Miller has more, with 24. McCants' career best in terms of single-season home runs is nine, which he accomplished at Ole Miss, his previous stop. He has six (also second on the team to Miller) before nonconference play is officially in the books. He played on the 2022 Ole Miss team that stunned the college baseball world by raising the national championship trophy.
Against the Bisons, McCants wasn't seeing the ball at his early season best. He was still able to continue his hitting streak, scoring a run in the series finale to bring his season total to 18 in that category. "It's no secret TJ's been a superstar for the first three weeks," Vaughn said Sunday. "I say he had a down weekend, dude had two hits today. It wasn't like your gaudy TJ this weekend. But he [Petrutz] was this weekend."
It goes back to the importance Vaughn has placed on having production up and down the lineup card. Different players have stepped up, depending on the game. The outfield, though, had a particularly tall order where it concerns the veteran players whose acts they had to follow. They themselves are veteran collegiate players, and it has shown.
Petrutz pointed to the example of discussing shapes pitches looked like and their movements, as well as how the players have picked up on that during the course of the spring. He then underscored the importance of stillness on every pitch. He's confident, and so is the group that surrounds him. As Sleight sees it, if he sticks to the one pitch at a time approach, he can help his team out.
"We're starting to come together fully as a team. If you look [at] the Manhattan series, and I don't know how many runs we scored, but we scored a lot of runs, and we weren't even communicating the best," Petrutz said. "The difference and adjustability that we've made as a whole team has been outstanding... We're learning each other and what each person needs to hear as an individual."
