Jason Jackson breaks down what he wants to see from Alabama pitchers in Super Regional

Alabama is looking to advance to its first College World Series of the 21st century with two wins over No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest.

That’s obviously easier said than done, but Crimson Tide baseball coach Jason Jackson believes the rest of his team’s season will come down to his staff’s pitching performance this weekend.

“[Attacking] the strike zone is a big thing,” Jackson said of his pitching staff. “This ballpark’s an offensive ballpark. The ball really flies. There’s a short porch in straightaway right and left. I think there’s going to be some home runs hit.

“Wake, they’ve played in this ballpark all year, and we’ve seen their pitching numbers. They do a really good job of attacking, going right at guys, and limiting free passes. There’s probably gonna be a ball that goes out of the ballpark this weekend. You’ve gotta make them be solo home runs.”

As a group, Alabama’s team ERA sits at 3.96 — good for seventh best in the NCAA heading into the Super Regionals. Their 1.26 WHIP also ranks No. 5 in Division I, both stats rank them No. 2 in the SEC. Alabama’s hits allowed per nine innings is also fifth in the nation (third in the conference), allowing 7.59 hits per game.

Offensively, Wake Forest is scoring 12.0 runs per game throughout the postseason after averaging 9.3 during the regular season. The Demon Deacons also have an impressive 40-2 record in games where they’ve scored four or more runs.

Alabama has two main starting pitchers on their roster, Luke Holman (7-3) and Jacob McNairy (7-2). Holman has held it down on the mound for the Tide all season long, leading the starting group with a 3.46 ERA (1.05 WHIP). In 75.1 innings pitched, Holman has struck out 79 of the 266 batters he has faced, allowing just 32 runs on 48 hits. In fact, Holman has faced over 40 fewer batters than McNairy and has allowed 31 fewer hits.

“I want to see the guys go out and not change what we do, continue to do the things that we’ve done all year. Strike one, strike one, strike one —and get ahead,” Jackson said. “If we can do those things … I think we’ll be in good shape.”

The first pitch of the Winston-Salem Super Regional between Wake Forest and Alabama is set for Noon ET on Saturday afternoon live on ESPN and ESPN+.