Alabama Pitcher Bobby Alcock Strikes Out Three in Crimson Tide Debut

The right-hander missed all of 2024 but got a weekend start to open the 2025 season.

Alabama's Bobby Alcock (48) in a game against Bradley. (Image credit: Alabama Athletics) / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— When the Alabama baseball coaching staff made the season's first weekend rotation official late last week, right-hander Bobby Alcock had been penciled in to get the ball first on Sunday.

Alcock has plenty of experience, and was named the 2023 Big South Pitcher of the Year while at Gardner-Webb. However, he was not able to pitch at all during the 2024 campaign while recovering from an injury.

On Feb. 13, Crimson Tide head coach Rob Vaughn said Alcock had battled through adversity to find his way back to the mound. On Sunday, Alcock was the winning pitcher in his team debut, an 11-4 win over the Bradley Braves which sealed a three-game sweep.

He went 3.1 innings and tossed 60 pitches, not a bad number for a first outing on the season, and especially for a first start back from a long layoff. He gave up only a single run, a first-inning RBI single off the bat of Braves designated hitter Bobby Atkinson. He settled in from there, finding a groove in his new home stadium.

"I was happy with Bob," Vaughn said. "Got in some fastball counts early because he just wasn't commanding some of the secondary stuff elite-ly in the first [inning], and then he kind of settled in... It was just good to have him out there."

The righty had a good enough preseason to earn one of the starting spots, beating out a pool of other arms that was described by Vaughn as having had the ability to also compete for the Sunday slot. Alcock progressed enough to get the nod and punched out three in the game while only giving up three hits.

Sunday, however, was far from the end for Alcock, as Vaughn foresees him being an important part of the Alabama (3-0) stable. It's not just about the redshirt senior making up for lost time, either. He also fits in well with this group and has already done a lot of good work in college.

"We're gonna need him to keep going longer and longer into games," Vaughn said. "He's worked really hard to get here, so it's fun to see it pay off."

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