Alabama Baseball's Peyton Steele Thrives in Start Against Southern Miss

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— There was a new name on the Alabama lineup card ahead of the No. 12 Crimson Tide's midweek win over No. 23 Southern Miss on Tuesday. Freshman Peyton Steele was given the nod to start in left field and the eighth spot in the batting order.

Steele wasn't making his college debut; he has appeared in multiple games this season. As the coaching staff helps guide team captain Kade Snell back to full strength after he was injured in an outfield collision during the Oklahoma series finale, his defensive role has been filled by others.

"We've got an older lineup. The older lineup has really performed at a pretty high level thus far," head coach Rob Vaughn said after the game. "Peyton's just been working his tail off. He has showed up every day, his attitude is awesome every day. He's an awesome kid."

The freshman was game. He hit his first college home run while leading off the bottom of the eighth against veteran Golden Eagles reliever Colby Allen (opposite whom Alabama was less potent last season) as part of a two-hit night.

"We wanted to kinda take a load off [Snell], and I didn't know Peyton was gonna go out and do what he did tonight, but I knew he wasn't gonna be scared, and I knew he was gonna play really hard," Vaughn said. "Those are the two things he did, and to see him get rewarded for that was really cool."

Catcher Brady Neal, who has played several innings of left field, took notice of Steele's work ethic. A conference veteran (LSU transfer and 2023 national champion), Neal has been around the very highest levels of college baseball and understands the day-in, day-out grind for players who don't appear every single day.

"I've seen it a couple times... a young freshman working hard when nobody's watching. It's tough to not play on a top 10 ranked team in the country," Neal said. "He's working his butt off. He got his opportunity and just did what he does."

Neal and Steele batted back-to-back in the lineup. Both were productive. Neal had three runs batted in on a bases-clearing double that gave Alabama the lead in the sixth inning. Both times Steele led off a frame, he got a hit.

Vaughn does not see Steele's performance on Tuesday night as a one-off. The Hartselle High School product factors into the long-term vision and potential makeups of Crimson Tide baseball rosters beyond this spring and summer.

"We look at him as a huge piece of our future," Vaughn said. "We're evaluating everything as a coach. You're evaluating your current team. You're also kinda looking to the future. Who are some of those guys that you feel like are gonna be some of those pieces? We felt like Peyton is one of those for a long time."

See Also: