Alabama's first year baseball coach Rob Vaughn previewed the Tide's upcoming weekend series with Valparaiso. Credit: University of Alabama
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00:00 You guys have started out hot.
00:01 What's working right now?
00:02 I mean, we've pitched the ball at a really high level.
00:04 I think that's where it starts.
00:05 I think every start we've got's been really good.
00:07 We've played pretty good defense overall.
00:10 But pitching's just been elite so far.
00:11 And I think that's given our offense a chance
00:13 that we've done some good things offensively,
00:15 but maybe not as consistent as I want to be yet.
00:18 But that's normal this time of year.
00:20 And I think when you throw the ball the way
00:21 we've thrown the ball the first five games,
00:23 it lets your offense kind of find their rhythm
00:25 a little bit and get moving.
00:26 So, man, we're five and O to start.
00:28 That's really the only thing that matters.
00:29 And we'll keep growing and keep getting better.
00:31 And the pitching staff has totaled three shutouts so far
00:33 and has an ERA of below one.
00:35 What can you say about that group?
00:36 Yeah, they just -- they work really hard, man.
00:38 JJ does a great job with those guys, getting them ready,
00:41 him and his crew down there.
00:43 But, man, I think more than anything,
00:44 they've just pounded the strike zone and attacked people.
00:47 You know, they haven't gotten cute and tried to trick people.
00:50 It's just been a lot of attacking.
00:51 And there's good stuff down there.
00:53 I mean, we ran out of guy that hadn't thrown
00:55 in the first four games throwing 102 last night.
00:57 You know, so there's some stuff in there.
00:59 And when you combine that with their mentality
01:01 and the way they attack, it leads to good things.
01:04 It puts the hitters on their heels more than them
01:06 trying to get cute and pitch around people.
01:08 So they've attacked. They've mixed pitches.
01:11 They've limited freebies.
01:12 And I think that's the recipe to be pretty successful
01:14 on the mound.
01:15 And this offense has really been clicking.
01:17 So what's working at the plate?
01:18 Yeah, you know, it's funny. We're scoring some runs.
01:20 I still don't -- I still think there's a lot of work
01:23 to be done on the offensive side.
01:24 I still think we're in between a little bit more
01:26 than I would like us to be.
01:28 But what we have done is, when we have hit,
01:30 we've really strung them together.
01:31 And that's what's allowed us to hang
01:32 some crooked numbers up there.
01:33 You know, I thought I really didn't like our bats
01:36 the first three innings yesterday as a whole.
01:38 But in the fourth, we strung about seven good ones together
01:41 and ended up with a seven spot.
01:42 So that's the beauty of it is, when we've got it moving right,
01:45 we kind of strung those together and cashed in.
01:48 I would just like us to see us
01:49 be a little more consistent there.
01:51 You know, we talk all the time
01:52 about not being in between pitches.
01:54 And I felt like we were in between pitches,
01:55 which is normal this time of year.
01:57 You're used to seeing our guys every day.
01:59 You know what they throw, when they like to throw it.
02:01 And you come into a new season,
02:02 and there's not a whole lot of information on these arms.
02:05 So it takes some time to do that.
02:06 And I thought we'd been in between a little bit.
02:08 But fortunately, it seems like we've had TJ up
02:11 in the situations we need him to do something good,
02:13 and he's been really good for us.
02:14 So, you know, that's covered up
02:16 some of the deficiencies there.
02:17 But we'll keep growing, keep getting better,
02:19 and hopefully run out and have a good weekend.
02:21 -And you have another weekend at home.
02:22 So what has the fans' support meant to this team so far?
02:24 -It's been awesome.
02:25 I mean, even yesterday, you know,
02:26 I knew we had a huge basketball game here last night.
02:29 And I know, you know, that that was a packed-out game
02:31 and all that, so I didn't know what that was gonna look like
02:34 in the student section, if they were all gonna be lined up
02:35 for the basketball game or what,
02:36 which I would have completely understood.
02:38 And, you know, we still had a great crowd out there.
02:40 You know, had a good crowd kind of supporting the guys.
02:42 And I think that just matters.
02:43 I mean, we want -- I want a team --
02:45 and I've kind of been vocal about that.
02:46 I want a team that this community,
02:48 that this school, that the alumni can really be proud of.
02:51 And when they come and back those kids up,
02:53 I think it just validates what we're trying to do.
02:55 And we're gonna need them,
02:56 'cause this thing's gonna get crazier and crazier.
02:58 And as the season gets kind of rolling,
03:01 it can get long at times.
03:02 And, man, the pick-me-up from those guys out in right field
03:05 can really help out.
03:07 -And Valparaiso comes to town this weekend.
03:09 What kind of challenge do they present?
03:10 -Yeah, I mean, you know, they split with Alabama State
03:12 this weekend.
03:14 They turned in two really good starts on Saturday,
03:16 played a doubleheader, and then one guy punched nine,
03:19 one guy punched 11, limited their freebies.
03:23 And, you know, I think, like anybody this time of year,
03:25 it's just who plays the cleaner brand of baseball.
03:27 I mean, honestly, we did some good things about Manhattan,
03:30 but I think overall we just played
03:31 a little cleaner baseball.
03:32 Same thing the last two days.
03:34 You know, there's been a couple errors thrown on their side
03:36 that we've capitalized on,
03:37 but we've been a little bit cleaner.
03:39 And I think that's the biggest key this time of year
03:41 is the team that plays cleaner usually wins.
03:43 And I think we like to talk about all the crazy stuff
03:45 in baseball, but who throws the most strikes,
03:47 who makes the routine plays, and who gets a timely hit.
03:49 That's generally who wins at the end of the day.
03:51 So, like I said, regardless if it's Valpo or who it is,
03:54 we just got to keep getting better.
03:55 And I want to just see us take that next step
03:58 as a unit tomorrow.
03:59 -And what do you want to see out of your team this weekend?
04:01 -Yeah, I think just to continue to grow.
04:04 You know, I said that early on,
04:05 is I don't expect this team to be the same team
04:08 in May and June as they are in February.
04:10 If we are, then we haven't done our job at a very good level.
04:14 And, obviously, you're down a guy like Riley Quick,
04:16 you know, with Riley having season-ending surgery.
04:18 So it's just an opportunity for the next guy to kind of step up.
04:21 And I don't think you replace Riley in any way, shape,
04:23 or form, but we're going to have somebody step up
04:26 and try to fill his shoes a little bit right there.
04:28 So I just want to see us continue
04:31 to clean up the little things,
04:33 a little bit more consistent with our at-bats.
04:35 I think we're having, you know, half of our at-bats.
04:38 I feel like we're turning in good ones.
04:39 The other half, we're kind of throwing some away.
04:41 And I want to see us continue to minimize that
04:43 and just make it miserable
04:45 to try to get through our lineup for nine innings.
04:47 And then we just got to continue to defend
04:48 and pitch the ball well.
04:49 When we do that, give ourselves a chance against anybody.
04:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]