Rob Vaughn Following Alabama’s 13-3 Game One Loss to MSU

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- On Friday, the Crimson Tide suffered a disappointing 13-3 loss to Mississippi State in game one of their three-game series. Game one finished in the eighth inning when the Tide was run-ruled.

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Alabama's head baseball coach, Rob Vaughn, spoke with the media following game one's loss. Vaughn began his post-game press conference by discussing Alabama's batting efforts, which saw the Tide finish the night with 11 hits and only three runs, saying, "Just one of those nights where a lot of loud outs. I'm not sure how many times we lined out to left field early." In the Tide's game one loss, Alabama lined out to left field four times in the first three innings.

Vaughn went on to point out that he did not think his team took advantage of the strikes they were given, unlike Mississippi State, who had 17 hits in the game one win, two of which were home runs. Alabama's head coach also mentioned the fifth inning, in which Mississippi State brought seven runners home, converting a one-run advantage into an eight-run lead by the end of the inning.

 "That's a really good hitting team, and we just missed middle way too much, particularly in the fifth with guys that are two of our kind of go-to guys that have been really good just too many misses, and credit Mississippi State for not missing those pitches." Vaughn added, "They (Mississippi State) were on time, and they were all over the gaps with it, and they were relentless with their at-bats there in the fifth inning."

Vaughn discussed what he told his team after their game one loss against Mississippi State on Friday night, with the head coach reminding his players that the SEC is a "big boy conference," as well as his confidence in his players to bounce back from game one and compete on Saturday and Sunday to win the series.

"I told our guys, ain't nobody gonna feel bad for you. This is college baseball. This is big boy baseball in the SEC, and we took it on the chin again tonight." Vaughn told the media. "You'd like to come out and play a little bit better on a Friday night, particularly at home against a good team, and we didn’t. So at the end of the day, we got to show up tomorrow. It’s going to be a 0-0 game at two o’clock,  and I trust those guys to be ready to go."

When asked about the recent pitching woes and what his message to that room is, Vaughn spoke highly of Alabama's sophomore pitcher Zane Adams, who is a weekend starter and has had a rough last two starts, which has seen the lefty pick up his first two losses of the season while allowing 17 hits and 13 runs through five innings pitched in those losses, which were to Auburn, where Adams only pitched one inning, and tonight in the Tide's game one loss, that saw the sophomore pitch four innings.

"Just don't take your foot off the gas, man. Like I'll ride with Zane Adams any day of the week. Like that's my dude. I love him. He’s been elite for us. He’s had back-to-back tough starts, like there's no question. He had an unbelievable bullpen this week. Felt great stuff. Was good."  Vaughn added, "It's never a lack of effort. It was just a lack of execution. You know, just getting in some bad counts. You know when he was ahead, kinda letting them get back in the count, and when he missed, they didn’t. And that's unfortunate." 

Alabama will return to action Saturday at Sewell Thomas Stadium, where they will face off against Mississippi State in game two of their three-game series at 2:00 P.M. CT, with the Tide looking to force a rubber match on Sunday with a win Tomorrow.

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