'It's 0-0': Rob Vaughn's Keys for Alabama to Reach College World Series

Vaughn doesn't want the Crimson Tide to "start thinking about punching our ticket" during Game 2 against St. John's, as he aims to avoid a repeat of his 2014 experience at Maryland.

Alabama Baseball vs. St. John's | Obtained from Alabama Baseball's X/Twitter

Alabama baseball head coach Rob Vaughn is in the midst of deja vu.

The Crimson Tide beat St. John's 8-0 in the first game of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional on Saturday night in front of a record crowd at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Should Alabama come out victorious on either Sunday or the if-necessary Monday game, it'll head to the College World Series for the first time since 1999.

Before coming to Alabama, Vaughn was the head coach at Maryland from 2018-23 after being an assistant for the Terrapins from 2013-17. In 2014, he was in the same spot as the Tide is now.

"We won Game 1 of the Super, and then we lost the next two at Virginia," Vaughn said during the postgame press conference. "So, the job's not even close to being done. I could tell you that team sitting in the other dugout is not scared still.

"They are going to show up tomorrow and be ready to fight, scratch and claw. That's who they are. That's how they've been coached. That's the culture they have. As good as tonight was, it's 0-0 tomorrow at 2 p.m. and we've got to make sure we're ready to go."

So, what will it take to get the job done?

"I think just us being super present, like these guys have been," Vaughn said. "...Same thing last weekend, right? Like you're in that game on Sunday against Oklahoma State. I told the guys, 'If we're going into that game [and you're thinking that] we just got to win one of the next two, you're in trouble.' You give that team some momentum, they're going to fight you tooth and nail.

"So, to me, it's a big piece that's just being present and understanding tomorrow's it. Like, we can't start thinking about punching our ticket. We can't start thinking about what it would mean. That's all something we can dwell on after we get there.

Vaughn mentioned that Alabama will be facing St. John's pitcher Evan Chaffee on Sunday afternoon. Chafee has 16 starts this season and holds a 7-4 record. He has a 4.96 ERA and his opponents possess a batting average of .276.

But he's more than just a member of the Red Storm's rotation. The redshirt junior transferred to St. John's after spending his freshman year with the Crimson Tide in 2023. That said, it's where the "redshirt" part of his class title comes into play.

"For right now, we've got to show up against a kid that's going to start tomorrow that started his career here," Vaughn said. "That guy would love nothing more than to go get us tomorrow. Like that's the deal. So we can't make tomorrow's game bigger than it is.

"We've got to be present, we've got to show up. [Alabama pitcher] Zane Adams has got to give us a great start, and these hitters have got to stay as relentless as they were today. If we do that, everything takes care of itself."

Without being provoked, Vaughn brought up what happened with Maryland after Game 1 against Virginia once again. But this team might be a bit different from the Terrapins of 2014.

"You start almost picturing yourself there, and all of a sudden, here we go, and Virginia gets the next two and we don't finish a job," Vaughn said. "So this group's mature, this group's been through this. I think it's just going to take us being incredibly present, having great preparation, and man, it's going to be a war again tomorrow. I could promise you that."

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