Alabama Freshman Takes Disciplined Approach in Manhattan College Series Triumph
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— How many baseball games are won 15-0 wherein the victorious team doesn't hit any home runs?
That ostensibly unlikely scenario became reality for the No. 19 Alabama baseball team in Saturday's domination over the Manhattan Jaspers, which locked up the opening series for the Crimson Tide. The 15 runs came on 12 hits. Five of those went for extra bases.
"[Home runs] are gonna come," head coach Rob Vaughn said. "We were efficient... Even though we scored a lot of runs, I don't know that we actually got that big blow where it was like, the bases-clearing double, or the two-run jack, we haven't got that yet, but those are kind of a given with this group. I'm very happy that we're showing we can score in some different ways."
The Alabama hitters drew eight walks, compounded by two hit batsmen. There has been attention paid to taking disciplined at-bats, and it showed in the encore to Opening Day. Catcher Mac Guscette, who had three hits and four RBIs, says it's a team approach, a shared priority. "As a team, we just wanna handle the strike zone very well," he said. "That's something that I and everyone else has bought into."
Leading the pack in the runs-scored category was second baseman Mason Swinney, who did not get the nod to start on Opening Day but took over on the infield in Saturday's game. He logged a hit, an RBI and a pair of walks. "I'm really proud of Mason. That guy fought really, really hard. He's worked his tail off since day one," Vaughn said. "This is what I love the most about Mase. I went up to him a couple weeks ago and said, 'We've got a pretty good one here with [Justin Lebron] and he's gonna start at shortstop.' His exact words were, 'Coach, whatever I've gotta do to help the team win. If you've gotta stick me in outfield, you put me wherever you want.'" Vaughn told Swinney he needs a Swiss Army knife, and the sophomore has taken to the task.
Lebron collected his first collegiate hit on Friday and was a great pick from the Manhattan third baseman away from a multi-hit college debut. The Florida native followed that up with a hit and an RBI on Saturday, continuing a strong weekend he's described as a breathtaking experience. He almost collected something of an inverse golden sombrero, adding three bases on balls during the afternoon. "You see [the approach] with Bron, today he had three walks. That's a really good day at the plate," Guscette said. "You're seeing the ball really well, you're commanding the zone. I think that's the biggest thing for us as a team to keep getting better at, is just do damage on pitches you're supposed to, take the ones you're not."
Lebron gained invaluable experience to go with his stat line in the form of having seen a lot of pitches. That can only help a freshman who's still playing in the first weekend series of his collegiate career, and he knows that.
"For me personally, I think that the more pitches I see, the more pitchers, the different kinds of pitchers and different kinds of at-bats that I have, going into the future, will definitely help me just [be] great, and [having] a good eye," Lebron said. He flashed some leather whilst turning his first college double play, acknowledging the help provided not only by his fellow infielders, but also by the man whose mantle as starting shortstop he took over. "I've learned a lot of things from Jim [Jarvis]. He's always here, always around, and we're always fielding together. There's a lot of things, a lot of knowledge in that man."
