How Carson Ozmer Flushed Vanderbilt Outing, Pivoted Mentally to Georgia Series

The Crimson Tide closer made history on Sunday.

Carson Ozmer (14). / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— May 4 represented a rarity for the Alabama baseball team.

Veteran closer Carson Ozmer had not blown a save all season but allowed four runs in the ninth inning with a walk-off home run at Vanderbilt that day. The final result? A 9-7 loss for the Crimson Tide.

On May 11, Ozmer came out of the bullpen twice in the same day and recorded two saves against No. 6 Georgia; the first of those, in a 9-3 win, broke the single-season Alabama record for saves.

"I've had my fair share of tough outings," the Penn transfer said Sunday. "It's just learning to flip the switch and move on, [sulk] in it for about an hour, and then just forget about it."

Ozmer now has 16 saves during the 2025 season, good for sole possession of the all-time program record by two. He possesses a 2.10 earned run average despite frequently throwing more than one inning or working more than one game in a row.

"It's awesome," Ozmer said. "That's what I came here to do... We're at that time of year where nobody on the team, I bet, is feeling 100% [physically]. Mentally, you've gotta flip the switch."

Second-year coach Rob Vaughn and his staff have tested Ozmer's versatility this spring. He's been able to do what veteran players are expected to and respond in various different situations.

"There's not a player in the country that's gonna be perfect at all times, but I think what it speaks to to his teammates and to us as coaches is just who Carson Ozmer is as a human," Vaughn said.

The college baseball season spans about 60 games, and any fifth-year player has been through ebbs and flows. No amount of experience is going to make a loss like the Vanderbilt contest not sting, but to recalibrate and continue having success, players can't let things like that linger.

"[I'm focused on] what's best for my team right now, what do I gotta do to help my team win," Ozmer said. "Especially down this last stretch going into postseason. That's kinda what I was thinking."

In many ways, the Crimson Tide head coach has not only challenged Ozmer but also leaned on him to help add stability and presence to a bullpen that lost its closer last offseason.

"A lot of guys aren't willing to do that [come in twice in one day]," Vaughn said Sunday. "[He is] reliable, selfless, is gonna give you every ounce of what he's got... As shocking as it is, it's not, because that's just who he is as a human and that bleeds through into the way he competes on the mound."

Alabama won the second game on Sunday by a 5-4 final score, clinching its first series win of the season in which it lost the first game. The Crimson Tide has now won two out of three SEC series.

See Also:

manual