College Baseball: Monty’s Musings Week 2

Welcome to the latest edition of Monty’s Musings, a weekly college baseball segment where I’ll provide my thoughts and reactions to specific storylines and performances.

Most of these observations will occur from games I attended and will often include post-game quotes from coaches and players.

I was lucky enough to once again attend the Jax College Classic in Jacksonville, Florida. Peak Events put on a fantastic showcase in the second year of the tournament’s existence. I was able to speak with players and coaches multiple times for Alabama, Coastal Carolina, NC State, and Ohio State.

While it wasn’t exactly typical sunny Florida weather, the teams competed at a high level and some coaches and players reasoned that this format could simulate how a Regional might unfold.    

Alabama is the Real Deal

If this was the simulation of an NCAA Regional, then the Alabama Crimson Tide would be on their way to a Super Regional. Most impressively, Alabama found a way to win each game of the Jax College Classic in a different way.

On Friday against Coastal Carolina, the Tide scored 9 runs on just three hits in an ugly, sloppy display of baseball between the two teams. On Saturday, pitching dominated as Riley Quick and the boys stifled the NC State bats at every opportunity. And on Sunday, Coach Rob Vaughn’s squad took one on the chin early to Ohio State, finding themselves down 10-0 midway through the 4th inning. 

During their scheduled team workout on Thursday before the Classic kicked off, Vaughn gushed over shortstop Justin Lebron– Alabama’s best player and one of the best shortstops in the country– but also highlighted two under-the-radar players who could make an impact for this team.

Second baseman Brennen Norton, a transfer from Jacksonville State, was compared to former Red Sox legend Kevin Millar in terms of personality.

First baseman Will Hodo was identified as a grinder that has continued to improve over the course of his four years in Tuscaloosa. Both players will be pivotal to Alabama’s success, much as they ended up being in this tournament.

In an ugly opening game against Coastal that saw the two teams combine for 16 walks, five errors, and just eight total hits, it was Norton who stepped up for the Tide and created separation.

With two outs in the 5th inning and the teams deadlocked at 0-0, the senior infielder drilled a two-out single to left to drive in the first two runs of the game.

Despite their lack of success hitting the baseball that night, Alabama continued to grind and made things happen, walking 12 times and being hit by pitches three times. Will Hodo accounted for two of those HBPs.

“It was kind of a weird night,” Vaughn said post-game. “I thought we just won the battle of the strike zone. Our guys were unbelievable.” The Alabama head coach took it one step further, referencing Yankee manager Aaron Boone’s infamous tirade.

“I thought our boys were savages in the box today. They were unbelievably tough, and it wasn’t always the prettiest one, but they found a way to get it done against a really good team.”

Toughness. Grit. Heart. This Alabama has those traits in abundance. And that was on full display this weekend. A dominant pitching performance by Riley Quick and the bullpen was supported by a Brennen Norton solo home run as Alabama cruised to an easy 4-0 win over NC State.

At this point, I was already extremely impressed with this team, especially when considering Lebron was 1-for-7 with three strikeouts after the first two games.

The most impressive performance was yet to come. Ohio State needed to beat Alabama by eight runs in their game Sunday to claim the Classic’s Championship Belt.

Despite a strong performance over their first two games, very few gave the Buckeyes a chance. The Tide appeared in control at first as they put traffic on the bases in the first two innings but were unable to score. Ohio State had no such problems and had huge innings in the 3rd and 4th to make 10-0 heading into the bottom of the 4th.   

Not the start we wanted,” said Vaughn. “We left guys on base.” It was a stunning course of events that would’ve left many teams reeling. During practice on Thursday, Vaughn mentioned wanting to see how his team would respond when getting punched in the mouth during SEC play.

While this 10-0 deficit wasn’t an SEC series loss or bad stretch of games, it was a microcosm of adversity that gave Vaughn an opportunity to see what his team was made of. Or perhaps it just gave the team an opportunity to prove that they were a reflection of their tough-minded head coach. 

“I brought [the team] together in the 4th,” Vaughn explained in the post-game. “I said, ‘we’ll go to the bullpen, they’re gonna hang us five zeroes, and we’ll come back and win this thing.’ And you could just feel it in the dugout.”

Hodo, who hit the walk-off three run blast to complete the epic comeback, provided the players’ reaction to their coach’s mid-game speech.

“Going down 10, there’s some doubt in your mind. But Coach Vaughn brought us up after that inning and let us know that if we don’t go out there and fight, that he’s not gonna think we’re tough. That means a lot to us.”

The recurring theme for this Alabama program is toughness. And while they may not have the talent or depth of an LSU or a Texas A&M, this is a dangerous squad in the SEC because of that toughness and self-belief. 

“Toughness is doing your job when the world’s burning down around you,” Vaughn explained. “That’s what toughness is, and that’s what this group did. They just kept showing up, and they kept punching the ticket.”

Oh and Justin Lebron? He went off in that comeback with two gargantuan backside bombs and six RBIs. He was named the 2025 Jax College Classic MVP.

Chase Herrell Impressive for Scrappy Ohio State in Jacksonville

Despite finishing the weekend 1-2, the Ohio State Buckeyes might have been the most impressive team during the event besides Alabama.

With several players– including ace Blaine Wynk– out due to sickness, the Buckeyes enjoyed a strong 8-3 win over NC State before losing two extra inning games in heartbreaking fashion to Coastal Carolina and the Crimson Tide.

Position players Tyler Pettorini, Lee Ellis, Reggie Bussey, and Trey Lipsey all shined throughout the weekend. But the most surprising– and arguably best– display came from sophomore pitcher Chase Herrell.

Herrell is a 6’2” soft-tossing right-handed starting pitcher for the Buckeyes. In his first start of the season against Arizona State, Herrell went a respectable six innings while giving up just four earned runs. Against Coastal Carolina on Saturday, the Milford, Ohio native dazzled over six innings giving up just one earned run while striking out nine.   

“I thought Chase Harrell was exceptional,” said Ohio State head coach Justin Haire. “It’s  two weeks in a row that he’s gone six innings and given us a chance to win. And he unfortunately doesn’t get much to show for, but I thought he was exceptional.”

The Buckeyes led 5-2 after he departed the game, but the lead changed multiple times before the Chanticleers were able to win it in 11 innings. Despite the topsy-turvy lead changes, Herrell was the story of the game. He only averages 88-89 on the fastball, but has a good cutter and quality secondary pitches. He was able to command and execute throughout the afternoon as Coastal hitters looked for answers. 

When asked what Herrell did to keep his hitters so off rhythm, Coastal Carolina head coach Kevin Schnall said, “The fastball command and the cutter we just couldn’t figure out. He was great with the running game. He managed the game very well.  He was very good.”  

According to Haire, it was a matter of matchups in addition to his quality command on the day.

“I thought he did a really good job at the top of the zone,” Haire explained. “Each club that you throw against is a little bit different. And it was a really good matchup for him, cuz he carries it a little bit and can really command it. He kept them off balance about the second or third time through, brought the breaking ball in and was landing that. He was opening up the whole plate. And being able to go up and down and in and out was really impressive.”

While Riley Quick was fantastic for Alabama, he only threw four innings against NC State. Coastal’s Dominick Carbone was huge in relief, but only threw 3.1 innings. Herrell had by far the best pitching performance of the weekend and unfortunately didn’t get his team the win. I look forward to following his success this season in the Big 10 because he and Wynk could provide an intriguing 1-2 punch for this up-and-coming Buckeye program.   

NC State Needs to Show Mental Fortitude to Stop Slide

It was a rough weekend for the NC State Wolfpack, especially when factoring in the midweek loss to Liberty last Tuesday evening. They never got going in Jacksonville, mustering just six runs over the three games and allowing 22. The Pack was ice cold at the plate and struggled defensively.

Even their vaunted pitching staff looked vulnerable as they lost all three games during the Jax College Classic. 

“I think that’s how you play when you’re doubting yourself,” head coach Elliott Avent said following the conclusion of the tournament on Sunday evening.

“When you’re not going good, guys tend to think too much. Right now, guys are thinking. And it mostly comes down to offense.  The guys that aren’t swinging the bats, there’s other things they’re not doing well either. And that’s the biggest problem.”

It’s important to note that it’s almost an entirely new lineup for NC State this year. Gone are the veterans like Alec Makarewicz, Garrett Pennington, Brandon Butterworth, and Jacob Cozart. Their offensive power ability was almost as important as their leadership and experience. The mental edge those veterans provided are missing early in the season.

“We’re missing guys like the Penningtons last year and the Cozarts and the people that led our ball club,” Avent explained. “Those guys that said the right things and did the right things in the dugout, in the clubhouse, and off the field. But right now, some of our guys that need to be leading this ball club are struggling and scuffling. They’re too busy thinking about themselves to worry about leading the club. And that’s a problem. Hopefully, they’ll figure it out.”

The NC State offense is much younger than last season. Sophomores Luke Nixon and Alex Sosa have been elevated into key roles and joined by fellow second years in transfers Chris McHugh, Ryan Jaros, and Matt Ossenfort. Freshman Ty Head is starting in center field.

Listen, we’re only seven games into the new season, but the Pack need to dig deep and show some mental fortitude to pull out of this slide. They have time but the more time that passes, the deeper the hold gets, and the more the self-doubt grows.

“This is a game where if you doubt yourself, it’ll chew you up and spit you out,” said Avent. “You’ve got to have confidence.And you’ve got to play with confidence.”

Elliott Avent teams always find ways to hit and generate offense, and this team will as well. It’s only a matter of time. But how much time do they have?

They get Richmond in the midweek and Canisius for a three-game series, so the time to dig deep and deliver is now. NC State needs to show their mental toughness after a brutal four-game stretch.

As Avent said, “Players make plays. You practice all you want to, but players make plays.” It’s time for the 2025 Wolfpack to make some plays.

North Carolina Sweeps Rival ECU in Annual Series

For the first time ever, the North Carolina Tar Heels have swept their in-state rival East Carolina in a three-game weekend series. UNC has started the season 7-0 with a midweek win over Kansas State and series sweeps of Texas Tech and East Carolina.

The pitching staff has been as dominant as expected, but the offense hasn’t even begun to get going. They’ve mashed just two home runs so far and struggled Monday driving in runs. 

Funny enough, head coach Scott Forbes had similar comments to Avent, despite the difference in team performance and record. 

“Hitting is hard enough as it is,” Forbes said after Monday’s win over ECU. “If you start over-analyzing, it’s gonna get way harder. We just haven’t driven the ball yet. And I think we’re not driving the ball because guys are pressing a little bit.”

Even though the team hasn’t hit their stride offensively, the Tar Heels are grinding out at-bats and generating a lot of traffic on the base paths. UNC has reached base via walk or hit by pitch 50 times already in 2025, which averages out to just over seven per game.

The identity of this offense is different from last year and will showcase patience and aggressive baserunning over power. They’ll still have their share of home runs, but the fact that this team is winning games without needing to hit particularly well is downright scary.

Forbes plans to discuss his team’s offensive mentality as soon as possible. He fears too many players are worried about slow starts and low batting averages, causing them to press and over-analyze. He wants his players focused on one thing. 

“It doesn’t matter how you get there,” said Forbes. “That’s what we preach in our program, the most important thing is to win the game, however you do it.”

Well they’re doing it and doing well against decent competition. Alongside Florida State, the Tar Heels have been the most impressive ACC team to start the year.