TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The opening day pennants were in the stands, which meant it was time for the 2025 College Baseball season to get underway at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, where the Alabama Crimson Tide opened up the season with a 10-6 win over the Bradley Braves.
“I thought we did some really good things today. I liked the consistency of the at-bats,” said Head Coach Rob Vaughn, who is entering year two at the helm.
Zane Adams took the ball for opening day after a down Freshman campaign, and it did not start as planned with a couple of free passes that led to a three-run home run from Bobby Atkinson for the Braves.
Justin Lebron left off from last season’s First-Team All-SEC season with a bases-clearing double that got over center fielder Weston Gingerich and gave the Tide the lead in what was a five-RBI day for the sophomore going 2-3 with two doubles.
“Two-out knocks are backbreakers, and they really set the momentum for the game moving forward,” said Lebron.
The fireworks started to come in the bottom of the fourth when Jacksonville State transfer hit a loud 106 MPH exit velocity home run that hit off the scoreboard in left field for a solo blast and the first dinger for the team on the season. Miami transfer Jason Torres, who was coming off a season-ending injury, got the start in his Alabama debut and plated two RBIs on two singles.
The game got dicey late, with the Tide trying to win without using high-leverage guys. Still, it was forced with Bradley getting the tying runner at the dish, and had to call Carson Ozmer into the game to close it, and shutting the door with a swinging strikeout to get the save.
Tons of new faces out of the bullpen got innings after Adams’s 4.0 innings without a strikeout, with JT Blackwood, Connor Ball, Tyler Fay, Zach Kittrell, Ariston Veasey, Coulson Buchanan, and Ozmer, who all combined for five innings of work, and were able to punch out seven as a group.
Up Next: Alabama will look to win its first series tomorrow with Riley Quick on the mound for the first time since getting Tommy John surgery after being taken out of the first series of last season. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m. central time on the SEC Network+.
