How an Unconventional Uniform Matchup Fueled Alabama Baseball in Game 2 vs. Valparaiso
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— There was something different about the Alabama baseball team's choice of uniform on Saturday against Valparaiso. Rather than the typical pinstripes, the No. 17 Crimson Tide (7-0) appeared on the diamond in crimson block 'Alabama' jersey tops, a design seen during midweeks and certain road contests.
The reason for this was because the visiting Beacons opted for an unconventional getup in the second game of the weekend set: a cream-colored ensemble, as the road team. Major League Baseball's Houston Astros did it from 1989-93, and the Chicago Cubs brought back the unique look as a one-off in 2022's Field of Dreams Game. The 2019 Astros also wore cream in a game at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
Creams are home colors, largely in a throwback style and regularly worn on Sundays, especially since the emergence of them around the early 2010s. The Beacons went with brown jerseys and gray pants in the series opener on Friday. The change on Saturday appeared to have been sprung on the Crimson Tide day-of, and it didn't sit well with everybody.
"It kind of started before the game, we get a team who comes in and wears white on our field, and that doesn't send a good message to us," left fielder Ian Petrutz said. Petrutz and his teammates were intent on setting the tone in the game, and he was one of four different players who hit a home run in the first inning. "We have to switch jerseys, and right away, that sets the tone for what we wanna do."
The offensive onslaught did not stop after the seven-run first inning. Alabama went on to win the game 13-3 in seven innings, the fourth run-rule victory of the campaign so far. Petrutz said the team doesn't want to take prisoners on its journey. "Like Coach [Rob] Vaughn says all the time, be the best version of ourselves today and just keep doing that every day." Petrutz's home run was the first of his tenure at the Capstone. He joined Vaughn as a transfer by way of Maryland, one of many new faces on the everyday lineup card.
For what it's worth, the Saturday pinstripes are 1-0 in 2024, adorning the Crimson Tide players as they notched the first run-rule of the spring, 15-0, against Manhattan College on Feb. 17. Sundays are when Alabama normally wears crimson: those jerseys bear a script 'Alabama' on the front, slightly different from those worn Saturday to contrast Valparaiso's off-white threads.
For the Alabama team, it may have been a bit personal. "A hundred percent," in Petrutz's words. "I don't think you come into our yard and do that, make us change. We just want to take care of business." Despite the frustration, the veteran collegiate player touched on the importance of stillness, being in the moment and trusting the plan. "We've been accepting of that, I think," he said, "and it's just what's gonna happen."
Any disruptions in the plan brought about by the atypical uniform matchup didn't show in the outcome of the game. Valparaiso (2-4) scored first, the only time the Crimson Tide has trailed through seven games, but it was downhill from there for the cream-clad visitors. Petrutz's blast gave his team a lead it did not surrender, and Alabama's victory also sealed the series win over the Beacons. "Adversity is something we need," Vaughn said. "Everything we do is built on doing the hard stuff on purpose. We welcome challenges, we welcome the hard stuff, because that's what these guys have been trained in... Heck of an opportunity for us to kinda display that a little bit today."
