Rob Vaughn Reveals Pitching Rotation Thoughts for Supers

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama baseball will host its first Super Regionals since 2006, with the Crimson Tide taking on the St. John's Red Storm in the Tuscaloosa Super Regional for a chance to go to Omaha, Nebraska, to play in the College World Series.

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It would be Alabama's first trip to Omaha since 1999, and this weekend's Super Regionals are the biggest games of Rob Vaughn's Alabama tenure so far. All season, the Tide has stuck with the same pitching rotation on weekends, with Tyler Fay getting the bump in the first game, Zane Adams getting the nod in game two, and Myles Upchurch being the starter in game three. Will Alabama alter its plan at all with two guaranteed games against St. John's?

"Right now, we're sitting here saying, 'Fay is going game one.' And that's really the only thing we've said up to this point," Alabama baseball head coach Rob Vaughn said on The Gary Harris Show on Friday morning.

While Vaughn didn't reveal the plan for the remainder of the weekend, he did say that the Tide keeping its regular pitching rotation makes "the most sense" with potentially three games this weekend.

"On paper, that makes the most sense. Is that probably what's gonna happen? Probably," he said. "But I think we see, in this situation, let's get through Fay and see where we're at. Is Zane [Adams] the best matchup? Are we in a situation where you're bringing Myles [Upchurch] into a game late to try to clinch the regional if you're in that position? I think there's a lot of moving parts in that.

"We've kind of approached this one as Fay's going Saturday night, we're going to run him out there, and then once we get through that game, we'll see where we're at after that. I hope it's Fay, Adams, and Upchurch is nice and rested for a game one in Omaha (in the College World Series), but at the same time, we're gonna play it by ear and see where we're at. We'll start with Fay tomorrow night, and go from there."

Fay has a season record of 11-5, pitching a total of 95.2 innings with 112 strikeouts. In his most recent start against Alabama State in the Tuscaloosa Regional, Fay pitched 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts, allowing six hits and three runs with one walk. The Crimson Tide defeated the Hornets 21-3 on Friday night in Alabama's first game of the Tuscaloosa Regional.

You can listen to Gary's full interview with Alabama baseball head coach Rob Vaughn here.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.