Torres Stands Out, Alabama Baseball Completes Sweep of Bradley with Sunday Win

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— In two of the three games this weekend between Alabama and Bradley, the Braves got on the board first. That particular anecdote mattered little as it relates to the outcome of the series, which the Crimson Tide closed the book on with an eight-inning, sweep-clinching 11-4 victory Sunday.

There was even some power involved on the offensive side, though it was a cold afternoon in Tuscaloosa with some wind to go with it. Alabama (3-0) mashed three home runs, including one hit by designated hitter Coleman Mizell for the second consecutive game.

"[I] was a little bit curious to see," head coach Rob Vaughn said about his team's response to the temperature drop. "Toughness isn't acting like it's not cold. Toughness is just doing your job and understanding the conditions. I didn't think our guys were fake tough at all today... They're talented enough to do it, they're mentally focused enough to do it. They ran off a good plan today."

Newcomers helped pace the Crimson Tide bats. Third baseman Jason Torres kept a good weekend going with a solo home run and five runs batted in (adding to the three he had entering Sunday). Right fielder Bryce Fowler also had three RBIs. Torres finished a double away from the cycle.

"Like [former Alabama quarterback] Jalen Hurts said, rain, sleet or snow," Torres said. "We're gonna go, you know. So, it don't matter what weather we got."

Bradley designated hitter Bobby Atkinson remained a thorn in the side of Alabama pitching. He collected a trio of hits on Sunday and had a pair of RBI singles, producing the first run of the game. The Braves (0-3), however, never mustered the same level of fight as when they sent the tying run up to bat in the ninth inning in Friday's opener.

Sophomore Crimson Tide shortstop Justin Lebron joined Mizell in the home run club during the fourth inning (Torres would follow in the sixth). Mizell's second-inning blast, just fair down the left field line, broke what had been a 1-1 tie after Torres sent Lebron in with an RBI single in the first inning.

Torres could have beaten Bradley solely on the strength of the five runs he sent home over the course of the series finale. His debut weekend in a Crimson Tide uniform included eight RBIs spread across the three games.

"I saw the ball good all weekend, but honestly, I just kinda changed my sights a little bit [Sunday]," Torres said. "I was kinda trying to put the ball over the scoreboard all weekend... I'm honestly surprised I got to third [on the triple]. I'll take it."

He added that he wanted to get an infield single on his third-inning RBI groundout that scored Fowler. Vaughn joked that Torres had been out by two steps, but the infielder jokingly suggested perhaps technology was to blame for the call not going his way.

"I know," he responded when Vaughn said he was out, "but cameras sometimes don't work. That's a good time for them not to work."

Alabama starter Bobby Alcock finally got to make his team debut, going 3.1 innings and 60 pitches with Atkinson's run-scoring single being the only mark on his final line. The 2023 Big South Pitcher of the Year faced 14 batters in his maiden start this season.

"He'd probably tell you he wasn't as sharp as he probably wanted to be," Vaughn said. "That guy's been really good in his preseason outings, but it was just good to have him out there. We wanted to keep extending that pitch count. We had about 60 to play with... We're gonna need him to keep going longer and longer into games, but happy for him. He's worked really hard to get here."

The relievers which followed Alcock had their performances bolstered by 12 hits from the offensive group. Production from the new faces was crucial to that. Those players were looking forward to finally playing someone else, and are shifting their focus to the next game against Middle Tennessee on Tuesday afternoon.

"It's good. Baseball season's back. It's always fun," Fowler said. "I think it was good this weekend, getting to play with new faces, obviously there's a lot of new guys in the lineup this year, not many returners from last year. That was good [for] us [to] get out there and play together."

Vaughn said the reason the game ended after eight innings was that the Braves had a long bus ride back to Peoria, Ill., ahead, a fact which Alabama wanted to accommodate as best it could.

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