Deacon Medders has taken the mound for Alabama in some of its biggest situations early this season. The sophomore has come out of the bullpen in crucial spots when the Crimson Tide is in a close game.
He’s done well in those situations. Alabama is 7-0 in games in which he pitched. He’s earned his first two career saves and has only allowed one earned run across 15 2/3 innings.
He pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen in a 3-0 win against Southern Miss on March 7, entering with a 2-0 lead. He came back two days later when Alabama had a 2-1 lead and threw the final three innings of a 3-1 win over New Mexico State.
On Friday against Georgia, he took over with a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning. An unearned run scored and sent the game to extras, but Medders went three full innings and 67 pitches out of the bullpen. Alabama won 10-9 in the 13th inning. That might keep him out of Tuesday’s game against UAB at Regions Field, but he’ll continue to play a part in SEC play.
He has 14 strikeouts against seven walks and six hits and has only allowed one extra base hit. Medders picked up some starting experience as a freshman, but coach Brad Bohannon has liked seeing him lock down games from the bullpen.
“I have a lot of confidence in Deacon,” Bohannon said on March 9. “He probably gets the most swing and miss of any pitcher on our staff. He’s got an above average breaking ball, above average changeup. That’s one of the reasons he’s really valuable out of the bullpen.”
