Alabama LHP Zane Adams Looking Like Old Self Since Rotation Move

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama baseball coach Rob Vaughn made a change in the Crimson Tide's weekend rotation two series ago. Sophomore southpaw Zane Adams, the Friday night starter all season long up to that point, was instead slated to start the final game at LSU one day before Easter.

The move down in the rotation came as Adams (6-2, 5.08 ERA), who has had first-inning difficulties in multiple games this spring, experienced back-to-back difficult starts against Auburn and Mississippi State.

"It felt like, when I pitched against Mississippi State, it was like every time they put the bat on the ball it found a hole," Adams said this past Saturday after a victory over Missouri. "It kinda killed my confidence. Like, maybe I'm doing something wrong. I don't know."

The Mississippi State start took place on April 11, and the Crimson Tide lost via run rule by an unsightly 13-3 score. Adams was hit hard for seven earned runs, allowing three in the opening frame.

Against the Tigers on April 19, Adams got the ball in a crucial road game. With his team down 2-0 in the series and having lost six of its preceding eight SEC contests, he seemed refreshed as he threw five innings and gave up one run while striking out three.

Alabama won that game, defeating LSU on the road for the first time in four years. When the projected rotation for last weekend's home tilt against Missouri was unveiled, it featured Adams as the No. 3 starter for the second time in a row.

The second appearance for the Texas native in that spot this season went even better than the first. Adams tossed a seven-inning complete game, allowing a solo home run in the third inning on Sunday but otherwise working through a great afternoon in an eventual 12-1 victory.

"Today just reassured me, you get ahead early, you get early contact, good things happen most of the time," Adams said after facing Missouri. He tied the longest start by a Crimson Tide pitcher in 2025 with that outing. It was his best in SEC play, and it happened at an opportune time.

The Crimson Tide (35-10, 12-9 SEC) needs Adams to be on form from here on out. The conference schedule is waning. There are only three regular season series to go before the SEC Tournament and NCAA regionals next month. A frontline starter firing on all cylinders down the stretch isn't just a boost. It's a non-negotiable for any team aspiring to have an extended run.

"Everybody keeps saying... 'We're close to that 16 [conference] wins' or whatever. My goal is, we're gonna be 21-9 when this season's over. That's what I feel like," Adams said Saturday. "I think everybody wants it, and that's everybody's goal is to go out and win every game."

The 16-win mark he was referencing is, along with projections for this year, the number of regular season league wins Alabama had the last time it hosted a regional in 2023. Adams' performance this coming weekend at Vanderbilt, along with his other forthcoming starts, will play a consequential role in whether or not the Crimson Tide is able to host again two short years after that.

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