Had Alabama baseball‘s Johnny Lemm not left the Crimson Tide‘s win over Alabama State with an injury on Friday, May 29, coach Rob Vaughn may not have reconsidered the lack of a run-rule in the NCAA Tournament.
Yet, Alabama was up 18-3 before Lemm led off the seventh inning. The catcher started the at-bat with a strike, but worked the count for three more balls and three fouls before disaster struck.
Lemm flung his hand back as he made his way to first base after Hornets reliever Jacob Loeffl threw a pitch that grazed his finger.
He remained in the game and eventually scored when Andrew Purdy flied out to right field. It wasn’t long after, though, that his day on the diamond was done.
Vaughn gave as much of an update as he could on the Australian roster member after the 21-3 win, and took a minute to mention that there’s no rule in college baseball in NCAA Tournament play. He didn’t advocate for it in the postseason, but he also didn’t suggest that it would be the worst thing to happen in this era of college athletics.
Lemm ultimately returned to the dugout in “good spirits,” Vaughn said, anticipating an update from trainers by Saturday morning ahead of Alabama’s game against USC Upstate.
“Obviously, he took the foul ball right off the finger, you know, so any time you do that, you’re kind of holding your breath, and it’s tough, man,” Vaughn said.
He wasn’t asked about the NCAA Tournament being a run rule-free competition. Nonetheless, it came up.
“Like, the run rule is something most all teams play all year long, then we get to the postseason and don’t play,” Vaughn said.
Immediately, he noted there were “pros” like younger players having the opportunity to take innings and get postseason experience.
“But in a 21-3 game, you hate a foul ball coming off a hand like that,” Vaughn said.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for The Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama baseball injury in NCAA regional raises run rule debate