Alabama Baseball Wants to be Toughest Team on the Field

Alabama baseball got off to the hottest start in program history, winning a record 16 straight games before suffering its first loss of the season in the series-closing game against Presbyterian. Despite the loss, Alabama baseball is still 17-1 as we begin SEC play this weekend. Alabama will hit the road for the first SEC series of the season to take on preseason No. 1 Texas A&M.

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On Thursday, Alabama baseball head coach Rob Vaughn joined Gary Harris at 10 a.m.

"Just really a professional effort by our guys," Vaughn said of Alabama's record 17-1 start to the season. "I think at the beginning when you're playing at this time of year, you're trying to see a lot of different things with your players. You're trying to see - can you beat the teams you're supposed to beat? Are you mature enough to handle expectations, are you mature enough to handle some kinda crazy weather? At the start of the college baseball season, some unseasonably cold days here in Tuscaloosa that we had to kinda grind through and do our thing with. Really proud of that, really proud of how they approach it."

We've won in some different ways, done some different things. I think the guys are ready. I think that's what you try to do with these first 18 games of the season. You're not going to be able to replicate SEC play - it just doesn't exist. You're not gonna be able to do it, but you try to have your guys in the best mindset and the best frame of mind, and your team is prepared to step into this 30-game season we have in front of us now. I think our boys are ready to go."

In the top 25 as we begin SEC play, 12 of 16 possible SEC teams appear, with Alabama baseball playing seven series against ranked opponents. The SEC has some of the top-tier talent in college baseball, so Rob Vaughn knows talent won't be the deciding factor in Alabama victories this season.

"We talk about it all of the time, we have a huge sign that hangs outside of our locker room where we walk in that says 'be tougher than they are,'" Vaughn said to Gary Harris. "That's kind of our whole thing. The SEC is - there is no question the talent level in this league is unlike anywhere else in the country. But, the separator for us can not be talent. The separator has to be our mindset and our toughness..." Vaughn said.

"You have to deserve to win, and that game (Alabama's loss to Presbyterian) we didn't deserve to win. We needed to be mature enough to look ourselves in the mirror and not make it bigger than it is, but be able to say 'we weren't good enough today. We weren't as hooked in here, we didn't execute here, we didn't do this here.' But that has no bearing on tomorrow unless we let it..."

"I thought our guys did a great job of that," Vaughn said. "Look ourselves in the mirror, we weren't good enough, we weren't tough enough, and the only thing you can do is control the next day. We went out Tuesday (against UAB) and we were the tougher team and executed better, and we got it done on Tuesday, which is all you can ask. Now you wipe it clean and try to do it again this weekend."

Alabama baseball will begin a three-game series against Texas A&M, which was ranked preseason No. 1, on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

Want to listen to the full interview with Alabama baseball coach Rob Vaughn? Click 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_.