TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – On a cold and windy Sunday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama Crimson Tide took down the Bradley Braves 11-4 to finish off the series sweep on the opening weekend of the 2025 season. The Tide put up 40 total runs this weekend on a combined 39 hits while drawing 24 free passes.
“It was a cold, windy day but the guys rang the bell all day. Consistent at bats as well as guys coming out of the pen doing their job, just really happy with the effort today,” said Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn.
Similarly to game one, Bradley came out firing in the first inning. After an error and a single to open the frame, Bobby Atkinson pulled a run-scoring single through the right side to give the Braves an early lead.
That lead wouldn’t last long as Alabama put together a few hits in the home half of the first to tie the game up at one. Justin Lebron reached on a hit-by-pitch then stole second before Jason Torres poked a single up the middle for his first of five RBIs on the afternoon.
“I saw the ball well all weekend but honestly, I just changed my sights a little bit today. I was trying to put the ball on the scoreboard but today I just tried to keep a level approach,” said Torres.
After a shutout frame in the top of the second, the Tide offense jumped back on the scoreboard with a solo-shot down the left field line from Coleman Mizell – his second homer in as many days. In the third inning, the Tide offense was able to threaten again with great at-bats from Bryce Fowler and Justin Lebron before Jason Torres knocked in another run on a ground-out, giving the Tide a 3-1 lead.
In the fourth inning, the Tide offense exploded, setting the tone for the rest of the game. The bottom of order loaded the bases, turning it over for the top of the lineup. Bryce Fowler capitalized with a two-run single to right. Justin Lebron immediately followed up with an absolute laser of a two-run shot over the left-center wall to make the score 7-1. Lebron hasn’t missed a step to start this season after earning All-SEC honors last season.
The Braves’ offense showed signs of life in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs on another clutch single from Bobby Atkinson to cut the lead to just three. However, it wasn’t enough, as the Tide offense continued to battle at the plate. Bryce Fowler added to the lead with an RBI single in the fifth, followed by a solo home run from Jason Torres in the sixth and an RBI triple from Torres in the seventh.
Jason Torres had a standout performance, going 3-for-4 with five RBIs and finishing just a double shy of the cycle. The Miami transfer led the team with 8 total RBIs on the weekend. Bryce Fowler also went 3-for-4 at the plate, as both Tide newcomers made a strong statement on opening weekend.
“We have a ton of competitive and talented players on this roster. We’ve been learning and trying things out, but these guys are making our job as coaches easy. We have these new guys because we know they are tremendous players,” said coach Vaughn.
On the pitching side of things, Bobby Alcock earned the win in his season debut despite only pitching just three and a third innings. The pitching staff was great, allowing just two earned runs while issuing only two walks and recording 10 strikeouts. Alabama used five arms out of the bullpen today, matching yesterday’s total, and relied on seven bullpen arms on Friday.
NEXT: Alabama will host Middle Tennessee on Tuesday and Alabama State on Wednesday before heading to Florida for the Jacksonville Classic tournament this weekend.
