Alabama Pitcher Grayson Hitt Shows Growth in Sophomore Season

Heading into his freshman year, Hitt's primary goal was to be the Crimson Tide's Sunday starter. Now, as a sophomore, that goal has been realized.

Author:
Joey Blackwell
Publish date:
May 4, 2022 9:00 AM EDT

It's safe to say that after his freshman season, Alabama baseball pitcher Grayson Hitt wasn't happy where his game was at.

A disappointing first season put Hitt in a tough place. Heading into his initial year with the Crimson Tide in 2021, his primary goal was to be the team's Sunday starter. He hadn't seen that realized, only picking up three midweek starts over the course of the season. As a reliever, Hitt had been one of Alabama's most-called on rookies with 11 appearances, but a 10.80 ERA over 18.1 innings pitched wasn't exactly the outcome that he had wanted.

Heading into his sophomore season, Hitt knew that he had to make some changes to his game. To initiate those changes, he traveled to Bethesda, Md. to play summer ball for the Big Train in the Cal Ripken Collegiate League.

“Over the summer I went up to Bethesda and I had a good group of guys around me,” Hitt said. “I had a good pitching coach up there, Coach [Craig] Lopez, he really helped me figure out my mentality and the way I should pitch.

"I also watched a lot of YouTube videos of Clayton Kershaw pitching and stuff and figured out how to work counts and react to what the hitter’s doing and pitch based on the hitter, not based on the count. I think that was a big part. Before I was a thrower, now I can pitch.”

Hitt finished the summer league with the second-most starts on the Big Train's roster with five, leading the team in strikeouts with 39 and holding a solid 1.63 ERA. In 22 innings pitched, he gave up just five runs off nine hits and walked a total of nine batters.

His dramatic improvement forced Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon to make a change in the Crimson Tide's weekend rotation heading into Hitt's sophomore season.

“My freshman fall I thought I was going to be the Sunday starter,” Hitt said. “And then whenever I heard that in the spring that I wasn’t, that kinda crushed me. It took away all of my confidence because that’s where I thought I was supposed to be. And then this year when I was listed as the Sunday starter, I felt relief because I had worked so hard to get there. Over the summer I really figured out how to pitch a little bit more so when Coach Bo told me I was going to be the weekend starter, it really gave me a confidence boost.

“Starting in the SEC is a big deal and that’s what I’ve been looking forward to since I was a kid."

So far this season, Hitt has developed into one of Alabama's most-dependable starters on the mound. With 11 starts under his belt, Hitt has a record of 4-2 on the season and has pitched the third-most innings on the team with 47.1 and is second on the team in strikeouts with 51. An ERA of 4.37 leaves something to be desired, but it's still a dramatic improvement over his time on the mound in 2021.

“Grayson’s thrown really well in league play,” Bohannon said after the Crimson Tide's 3-0 win over No. 14 Georgia. “I feel like you can see him get better — and there’s been ups and downs — but he was pretty awesome at Ole Miss. And I told him this after the Tennessee game: I thought he pitched better than his stat line, you know? Tennessee’s really good and it’s a tough place to pitch for a lot of reasons. He was fabulous today so proud of him and the way he’s progressing.”

With the title of 'Sunday Starter' now assigned to him, Hitt has shown solid improvement between his two seasons. Now, with three weekends of the regular season left to go, he's primarily focused on his game so that he might contribute to keeping Alabama's chances at an NCAA Regional alive.

“Some of my strengths are that I can spin the ball really well,” Hitt said. “I think I can locate my off-speed pitches pretty well. Something that I can improve on is getting ahead in the count. Sometimes I fall behind, but I get away with it because I can spin the ball really well and I think if I can get ahead it’d be a lot easier and I could save some pitches so I can go deeper in the game. I think that’s something I can improve on.”