Alabama Baseball Impressing Early with Power Hitting Throughout Lineup
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In Alabama baseball's opening series against McNeese State back on Feb. 19-21, the Crimson Tide finished the series with seven home runs in three games.
When asked about if he had foreseen that kind of power hitting from his lineup, coach Brad Bohannon's answer was a resounding no.
“No I didn’t,” Bohannon said at the series' conclusion. “I’m not great at math so 56 games, 112 [home runs] — I don’t foresee us hitting 112 homers this year. I wouldn’t be mad about it but I like our offensive group. It’s a pretty good mix of left and right. We’ve got some athleticism, some guys that can impact the ball and I wouldn’t have foreseen [seven] home runs but I’m not surprised that we’ve created some hard contact so we gotta continue to figure out what’s – there’s probably a bigger gap with this group than any group I’ve ever had where our best offensive lineup is dramatically different from our best defensive lineup.
"So we’ll continue to work some different combinations and kinda see where it goes but I like the home runs and those are nice.”
Alabama might not be on track to hit 112 home runs, but it is certainly on to something in the long ball department.
Through its first nine games, the Crimson Tide has hit 15 home runs — an average of 1.66 home runs per game. If Alabama were to keep up that pace, it would have roughly 93 home runs this season.
While the team might currently be on track to hit that many home runs, it is far from expected. With its 8-1 record so far this season, the Crimson Tide is still just over two weeks away from facing some serious competition in SEC play. While the bats for Alabama are swinging for the fences right now, that will become much more difficult in the days and weeks to come.
On Wednesday, the Crimson Tide hit three home runs in its 9-1 victory over Troy. Following the game, Bohannon reiterated that he did not see this type of long ball production from his offense admitted that power was something that he and his staff emphasized during the recruiting process.
“It’s a little better than I anticipated at this point but that’s a big emphasis in recruiting,” Bohannon said. “I think nowadays you have to recruit guys that can impact the baseball. Obviously there’s a lot of other variables and components but I mean our home run numbers are a little higher than I would have thought.
“When you have multiple guys in the lineup that can get extra-base hits, it really stresses the pitcher. If we can continue to do that somewhat at the pace that we are and do maybe a little bit better of a job with the short game and a little more action I think we’ll have a chance to have something. But we need to get better in those other areas.”
So far this season, sophomores third baseman Zane Denton and second baseman Peyton Wilson are tied for the team lead in home runs with four apiece. Three of Wilson's home runs are leadoff home runs, a feat that not only puts his team out in front early but also demoralizes the team's opponents.
Redshirt-sophomore catcher Sam Praytor, who is second on the team in home runs this season behind Denton and Wilson with three, said that the power in the Crimson Tide's lineup isn't something that the team focused on in the offseason.
“It’s kinda really just happening,” Praytor said. “We didn’t really focus on that at all. If anything we focused on hitting line drives all over the field and that’s our approach when we go up to the plate right now. It’s just hitting a line drive and lining up wherever it’s pitched and the ball just seems to be going out. It’s not anything that we’re trying — you know, we’re not going up there trying to hit home runs or anything but it’s just happening and hopefully we can keep that going the rest of the season.”
Alabama still has a long way to go before May 25 — the date of the start of the SEC Tournament. While that might be the case, this Crimson Tide lineup is certainly making some solid impressions early on and, should it continue to develop its fielding and bullpen strength, could make its first appearance in the annual conference tournament for the first time since 2016.
