HOOVER — Alabama baseball’s coaches could’ve listened to Riley Quick.
Inning after inning on Wednesday, the Crimson Tide’s starting arm watched the No. 9 seed’s chances of advancing past No. 8 seed Tennessee teeter, typically slipping away right when it looked like Alabama (41-16) might survive to the quarterfinals.
Coming into the second round, skipper Rob Vaughn and pitching coach Jason Jackson weren’t sure who would take the hill for Alabama. The showdown against Tennessee (42-15) being postponed late Tuesday after UA’s 4-1 defeat of Missouri bought staff some time. Still, Alabama didn’t announce its decision until about 20 minutes before Aeden Finateri threw his first pitch in his first SEC start.
Coaches shouldn’t have heard their second team All-SEC selection out because Finateri had a poor showing, or because starter Zane Adams made his first appearance out of the bullpen all year, but because listening to Quick likely would’ve offered a better outcome than the 20 hits and all the decisions that ensued against Tennessee.
Vaughn told media on Tuesday that Quick was “knocking down the door” to earn the starting nod and face the Volunteers. Granted, while Quick only went two innings in his start against Tennessee, which scored five runs on six hits with two walks while he was on the hill, his entire run in 2025 has been about making a coming back.
Quick returned to the Crimson Tide after season-ending Tommy John surgery in 2024. Naturally, he’s the type to want the chance to avenge his first of two losses this season for Alabama, so why didn’t coaches pick Quick to get Alabama by Tennessee?
Why didn’t Alabama baseball give starting nod vs Tennessee to Riley Quick?
Based on Vaughn’s explanation on Wednesday, it sounded like Quick grew hesitant.
“We talked to Riley. He played catch yesterday, and I think he would have loved to have gotten out there and gone, but he was like, ‘Man, I just feel OK, and I don’t feel awesome.’ At that point, there’s not a shot that I’m going to run that kid out there,” Vaughn said.
In 1 2/3 innings, Finateri exhausted his arm with 41 pitches. He faced 10 batters and struck out one, but Alabama wasn’t willing to risk any damage beyond the two runs he allowed on four hits. Matthew Heiberger took over in relief first but gave up three runs on five hits in the same amount of time on the hill and a little over half the number pitches thrown by Finateri.
Braylon Myers took over for Alabama in the fourth inning but inherited a bases-loaded jam as a result of Heiberger. His response to the situation was a wild pitch, which saw Tennessee take a four-run lead after Gavin Kilen scored on the blunder.
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A bullpen game seemed like it was the right call to make after Alabama plated five runs in the fifth inning. Fired up, Myers struck out two Volunteers but allowed his second earned run of the game in the process, which was enough for Jackson to call the bullpen for the fourth time on Wednesday.
Eyebrows raised when Zane Adams − part of Alabama’s starting rotation − emerged.
Alabama knew it needed length from its arms to make it to Championship Sunday. When Adams came out in the sixth inning, it seemed like Alabama’s plan was to stretch the lefty starter to close out the game, or at least get to the final frames.
“A lot of that goes into workload. A lot of that goes into history,” Vaughn said, reminding that Quick is a “max-effort arm” and still in the recovery process.
“Riley’s pitch count got up a little bit higher last week at Florida. Zane, obviously, unfortunately, wasn’t in the game near as long in Florida, so he just hadn’t thrown as many pitches and was a little bit fresher there,” Vaughn continued.
It took four batters, a couple walks and an RBI single for Jackson to yank Adams for Hagan Banks, who gave up back-to-back base hits, setting the stage for another pitching change. JT Blackwood gave up two more hits and two more runs before second baseman Brennen Norton caught a Volunteer stealing to end the inning.
Three more pitching changes and five runs on the scoreboard later, there was Quick, still watching and waiting on the waysides.
“That kid’s gonna make a whole lot of money here in about a month and a half, but we need Riley as fresh as he can be this upcoming Friday,” Vaughn said.
Regionals in the 2025 NCAA Division I baseball tournament kick off on Friday, May 30, and now Alabama waits to learn its national seed.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
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