Sophomore catcher Sam Praytor will miss the remainder of the season, Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon said on Friday night.
Praytor played in six games with five starts this season. He left Alabama’s Feb. 22 game against Ball State after six innings. He came out to warm up for the seventh but returned to the dugout after appearing to tweak his elbow while throwing a ball to second base. He pinch hit in one more game after that, but didn’t catch any more.
He was batting .222 with two home runs and three RBIs in his six games this season. He projected as Alabama’s primary catcher and a middle-of-the-order bat when the season began after batting .279 with 16 RBIs as a freshman, including .301 in the final 21 games.
With Praytor out, Brett Auerbach will likely slide from third base to behind the plate more frequently. Junior college transfer Johnny Hawk should also see additional opportunities. Alabama started junior Kobe Morris at third base on Friday night and could also use junior John Trousdale there.
