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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- A new era of Alabama baseball will be on display this weekend as new head coach Greg Goff and the Crimson Tide open their 2017 season with a three-game series against Presbyterian College. But like most things, it will take time to employ a new coaching philosophy.
In his fourth stint as a head coach, Goff has admittedly mulled over 100 or more lineups every night when he returns home from Sewell-Thomas Stadium. That, along with the identity of his first Alabama team, are things he will allow to unfold on their own.
“That’s something for me as a new coach, I think, we’re going to feel our way through that a little bit,” Goff said. “When you bring in a new system -- you can do it in practice but when there’s five or six thousand people here and the lights come on, it’s a little bit different.
“Hopefully they’ll play aggressively like we’ve been doing in practice, because if we do that, we’re going to have a lot of fun.”
Goff inherited a veteran roster that will also feature some new faces he and his new staff helped lure to Tuscaloosa. And for the first-year head coach, it all starts with his returning pitchers.
The Crimson Tide enters the 2017 season with two-thirds of its weekend rotation intact from last year, including senior Nick Eicholtz and junior Jake Walters. Goff will call on the familiar pairing of Eicholtz and Walters for the weekend’s first two games and close it out with sophomore Dylan Duarte.
“I told Coach (Terry) Rooney that every time he calls a shutout, we’ll win. That’s how important they are,” Goff said of his returning pitchers. “But nah, to me we’ve got some good, quality starters, and hopefully we can -- for our offense especially -- try not to give up runs early so we can play with some confidence, a little bit more looseness. I think that’s going to be huge for us.
“If we can put some zeros up early on a Friday and Saturday, I think what you’ll see is our guys be more confident as the game goes along.”
Duarte and sophomore Brock Love battled for the third spot in the rotation, Goff said before the season, and the right-handed Love could now begin the year out of the bullpen. Regardless of where he is used, Goff mentioned both Duarte and Love as some of the young players to watch in 2017.
The former Louisiana Tech head coach also pointed out a trio of offensive youngsters that could make an impact this season, whether that’s this weekend or later on in the schedule.
“John Trousdale, Logan Carey are two freshmen that nobody’s really seen,” Goff said. “I think they have a chance to hit. They’re both athletic. I think they’ll get some playing time at some point. … Kyle Kaufman, a catcher they recruited out of junior college, he’s athletic. He’s going for that starting position. I think those three are three guys you’ll see probably play that first weekend.”
As for the experienced players, Alabama returns all four of its regular starters on the infield, highlighted by the duo of shortstop Chandler Avant and second baseman Cobie Vance.
Avant’s 2016 season was cut short by a broken ankle that he suffered at Texas A&M on April 23. The team’s primary shortstop, Avant led the team in runs scored (25) and doubles (15) while ranking second on the squad in RBIs (22) before his injury.
The 5-foot-8 Vance was one of only two Tide players to start all 58 games in 2016 and finished his true freshman campaign ranked second on the team in hits (58) and walks (25).
The Crimson Tide outfield is headlined by SEC All-Freshman Team honoree Chandler Taylor. Taylor finished his rookie season in Tuscaloosa as the only player to homer in back-to-back games (April 22-23 at Texas A&M, May 13-14 at Arkansas) and led the team in walks with 40.
Goff praised the production of Avant and Vance and included them as part of the strength of the 2017 team, offensively, before this Alabama squad takes the field for the first time Friday.
“The biggest thing, I think, is that we’re really good up the middle. To me, that’s kind of where it starts,” Goff said. “With Avant, he’s such a solid shortstop, and Cobie is such a solid second baseman. And then up the middle with Gene Wood, a really good defensive center fielder, and behind the plate with the guys that we have, that’s probably been the biggest surprise.
“For me, as we recruit and as we build this thing, we want to start from the middle and work out, and I think our middle is going to be really solid. If we can get our pitchers to throw at a down angle and get a lot of ground balls, I think we’re going to have a really good year.”
The Crimson Tide is coming off a 32-26 season that ended in the SEC Tournament, and while it will return 20 letterwinners to the diamond this spring, including five positional starters and three starting pitchers, there are still spots to be won -- even with Opening Day only one day away.
As the rebuilding of Alabama baseball begins, the man behind the plan wants crimson-clad fans to remember the turnaround a certain MLB franchise experienced only a short time ago.
“I think if you identified our system, I think it’s a lot like the Kansas City Royals,” Goff said. “You saw them two years ago win the World Series. I think you’ll see that type of mentality, really aggressive on the bases. We can’t miss dirt balls. We’ve got to dig up first-to-third on those questionable, hustle doubles. And I think that’s what you’re going to see from our standpoint.
“... If we get it rolling, it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch, I can tell you that. It’s just going to be fun to see our guys bounce around here with a lot of energy, and I can’t wait to unleash them here come Feb. 17.”
First pitch between Alabama and Presbyterian College will take place at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. All three weekend games will air live on SEC Network+.
In his fourth stint as a head coach, Goff has admittedly mulled over 100 or more lineups every night when he returns home from Sewell-Thomas Stadium. That, along with the identity of his first Alabama team, are things he will allow to unfold on their own.
“That’s something for me as a new coach, I think, we’re going to feel our way through that a little bit,” Goff said. “When you bring in a new system -- you can do it in practice but when there’s five or six thousand people here and the lights come on, it’s a little bit different.
“Hopefully they’ll play aggressively like we’ve been doing in practice, because if we do that, we’re going to have a lot of fun.”
Goff inherited a veteran roster that will also feature some new faces he and his new staff helped lure to Tuscaloosa. And for the first-year head coach, it all starts with his returning pitchers.
The Crimson Tide enters the 2017 season with two-thirds of its weekend rotation intact from last year, including senior Nick Eicholtz and junior Jake Walters. Goff will call on the familiar pairing of Eicholtz and Walters for the weekend’s first two games and close it out with sophomore Dylan Duarte.
“I told Coach (Terry) Rooney that every time he calls a shutout, we’ll win. That’s how important they are,” Goff said of his returning pitchers. “But nah, to me we’ve got some good, quality starters, and hopefully we can -- for our offense especially -- try not to give up runs early so we can play with some confidence, a little bit more looseness. I think that’s going to be huge for us.
“If we can put some zeros up early on a Friday and Saturday, I think what you’ll see is our guys be more confident as the game goes along.”
Duarte and sophomore Brock Love battled for the third spot in the rotation, Goff said before the season, and the right-handed Love could now begin the year out of the bullpen. Regardless of where he is used, Goff mentioned both Duarte and Love as some of the young players to watch in 2017.
The former Louisiana Tech head coach also pointed out a trio of offensive youngsters that could make an impact this season, whether that’s this weekend or later on in the schedule.
“John Trousdale, Logan Carey are two freshmen that nobody’s really seen,” Goff said. “I think they have a chance to hit. They’re both athletic. I think they’ll get some playing time at some point. … Kyle Kaufman, a catcher they recruited out of junior college, he’s athletic. He’s going for that starting position. I think those three are three guys you’ll see probably play that first weekend.”
As for the experienced players, Alabama returns all four of its regular starters on the infield, highlighted by the duo of shortstop Chandler Avant and second baseman Cobie Vance.
Avant’s 2016 season was cut short by a broken ankle that he suffered at Texas A&M on April 23. The team’s primary shortstop, Avant led the team in runs scored (25) and doubles (15) while ranking second on the squad in RBIs (22) before his injury.
The 5-foot-8 Vance was one of only two Tide players to start all 58 games in 2016 and finished his true freshman campaign ranked second on the team in hits (58) and walks (25).
The Crimson Tide outfield is headlined by SEC All-Freshman Team honoree Chandler Taylor. Taylor finished his rookie season in Tuscaloosa as the only player to homer in back-to-back games (April 22-23 at Texas A&M, May 13-14 at Arkansas) and led the team in walks with 40.
Goff praised the production of Avant and Vance and included them as part of the strength of the 2017 team, offensively, before this Alabama squad takes the field for the first time Friday.
“The biggest thing, I think, is that we’re really good up the middle. To me, that’s kind of where it starts,” Goff said. “With Avant, he’s such a solid shortstop, and Cobie is such a solid second baseman. And then up the middle with Gene Wood, a really good defensive center fielder, and behind the plate with the guys that we have, that’s probably been the biggest surprise.
“For me, as we recruit and as we build this thing, we want to start from the middle and work out, and I think our middle is going to be really solid. If we can get our pitchers to throw at a down angle and get a lot of ground balls, I think we’re going to have a really good year.”
The Crimson Tide is coming off a 32-26 season that ended in the SEC Tournament, and while it will return 20 letterwinners to the diamond this spring, including five positional starters and three starting pitchers, there are still spots to be won -- even with Opening Day only one day away.
As the rebuilding of Alabama baseball begins, the man behind the plan wants crimson-clad fans to remember the turnaround a certain MLB franchise experienced only a short time ago.
“I think if you identified our system, I think it’s a lot like the Kansas City Royals,” Goff said. “You saw them two years ago win the World Series. I think you’ll see that type of mentality, really aggressive on the bases. We can’t miss dirt balls. We’ve got to dig up first-to-third on those questionable, hustle doubles. And I think that’s what you’re going to see from our standpoint.
“... If we get it rolling, it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch, I can tell you that. It’s just going to be fun to see our guys bounce around here with a lot of energy, and I can’t wait to unleash them here come Feb. 17.”
First pitch between Alabama and Presbyterian College will take place at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. All three weekend games will air live on SEC Network+.
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