Alabama DH Owen Diodati Heating Up at Right Time in SEC Tournament: "He's Got the Clutch Gene"

HOOVER, Ala. — In the 17 games of the 2020 season that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the college baseball world got a glimpse of how special then-freshman Owen Diodati could be for Alabama.

He had a batting average of .309 with five home runs and 22 RBIs in only 55 at-bats. his home-run total was second on the team, but his RBI mark was a team-high.

However, the Crimson Tide was robbed of an entire Southeastern Conference schedule so young bats like Diodati had to wait another year to see the type of pitching that makes the league so elite.

"No matter how talented you are, or if you were here last year and you played four weeks of non-league play, you just can't simulate the Southeastern Conference," Alabama coach Brad Bohannon said.

Fast forward to 2021 and the Crimson Tide has gone through a full SEC slate, finishing with a 12-17 mark, but is now on a two-game winning streak in the conference tournament ahead of facing No. 13 Florida on Thursday afternoon at the Hoover Met (4:30 p.m, SEC Network).

Wins over No. 24 South Carolina and No. 4 Tennessee have been possible thanks to Diodati overcoming a dreadful slump that lasted over a month, from late April to late May.

Before his third-inning at bat that resulted in a two-run RBI single against the Gamecocks on Tuesday, Diodati had only five hits in his last 43 at-bats dating back to Alabama's double-header against Kentucky in Lexington on April 25.

Overall, Diodati was only hitting .215 in league play.

"We had seven freshmen or COVID freshmen in the lineup today, and Dio had a rough patch," Bohannon said following his team's 9-3 win to bounce South Carolina from the tournament. "He's typically not a swing and miss guy for a guy that hits for power, and he's been striking out a bunch. Then you start doubting yourself and pressing and making changes. I tried to give him a break here and there. Sometimes mentally, when it's not going well, just taking a step back and watching for a day can help, and we've done that a couple of times. He's pretty good left on left, so when they went to the pin and brought in the lefty, I think in some ways mentally it helps him think about not trying to do too much and just stay on the ball, and that's exactly what he did."

Although that was Diodati's only hit of that contest, it set the tone for his performance against the Volunteers on Wednesday.

The Niagara Falls, Ont. product roped a double down the right-field line in his first at-bat, then in the 11th, smoked a ball up the middle of the infield to score catcher Sam Praytor from second, which proved to be the winning run in a 3-2 thriller.

Since arriving in Hoover, Diodati is 3-for-9 with one extra-base hit, three RBIs and one walk.

"Yeah, I think a lot of it had to do with the mental part of the game," Diodati said of getting out of his slump. "I'm young and got some growing up to do. I think part of it is just remembering it's just baseball and we're here to have fun, and baseball doesn't have to be so serious all the time. I think that's been a big change for me the last couple days.

"It's just about going out and having fun. I've made some small mechanical changes with Coach Bo and our hitting coach over the last couple of days that I think have helped me with the way I'm being pitched and things like that. It's been awesome winning these two games and being in a good position going forward in this tournament."

His resurgence into the player that fans saw during the shortened 2020 season couldn't have come at a better time for the Crimson Tide, with its NCAA-tournament life hanging in the balance.

"He's just got that clutch gene," Bohannon said. "Whatever it is, he's got it. He's a guy that I like having up with people on base, especially late in the game."

On the year, Diodati's average is up to .235 and his 11 homers and 40 RBIs both rank second on the team behind Praytor.

It isn't a forgone conclusion yet that Alabama will be selected to its first NCAA regional since 2014, but a win against a top-15 team in the Gators would move the Crimson Tide from the bubble to firmly in the 64-team field.

"I feel great," Diodati said. "You know, big situations, I think maybe it's just a little bit of a coincidence that I've gotten hits in those situations the last two days, but I'm really just trying to play loose, play free, and have fun when I'm out here. I said it earlier, but baseball is supposed to be fun. We're at the SEC tournament. A lot of kids dream of being here. I don't want to take one minute for granted being out here. It's really unbelievable. As a team, we're really, really close, and it's just really cool to be out here doing what we're doing...

"Obviously, we have work to do, just kind of how the regular season ended up for us. These two wins are huge. We don't plan on stopping here after these two wins. We're a really confident group, and I think we're a really good team, and we can do something really special here in the tournament and hopefully afterwards."