TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jacob McNairy had a decision to make when he heard his name in the 16th round in the MLB Draft last July. He could have signed with the Seattle Mariners to begin his professional baseball career or return to Tuscaloosa for another season. Less than a month later, the 6-foot-2 pitcher was back on campus prepping for another season with the Crimson Tide.
As fall ball began, McNairy already had a trip to Omaha marked down on his calendar from June 16-26. Fast forward through a turbulent baseball campaign and McNairy was on the mound with a chance to punch Alabama's ticket to the super-regional round of the NCAA Tournament and was almost untouchable against Boston College on Sunday.
"This is what I came back for, to have a chance to make it to Omaha," McNairy said. "We're not done yet. Got to give credit to (catcher) Mac (Guscette). I couldn't be who I am without him. He's calling the games. He steals a lot of strikes for me."
With a chance to advance to super regionals for the first time since 2010, Alabama turned to the Athens, Alabama native who went 7 2/3 innings allowing three hits and striking out 11 against an Eagles offense that tallied 28 runs coming into the Tuscaloosa Regional final. While McNairy's outing may have surprised some casual fans especially since it was his first start since his debacle against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament.
McNairy lasted just 4 1/3 innings where he allowed seven earned runs on nine hits en route to a 9-2 loss to the Commodores, but all of that was a blip in the past, and on Sunday the fifth-year senior had it all working from the start.
Alabama interim head coach Jason Jackson has made it a point to keep as many routines the same since he took over toward the end of the season, which includes watching the bullpen session prior to giving in his lineup card. On Sunday, he watched McNairy and Guscette go through their routine before meeting with the umpires and the opposing coach.
"I missed the last 10 pitches or so when (Guscette) came down to the dugout and we were getting ready to hit and he said, 'Man he's throwing really hard,'" Jackson said. "I looked at Ben Hess who was sitting beside me and I'm like 'That might not be good.' He gets really amped up and sometimes he'll start kind of snatching it a little bit and for those sinker guys, the ball starts elevating on them a little bit.
"Normally when he gets into that rhythm, then he starts mixing those pitches really well. ... To have a guy like Jacob McNairy on the mound, who’s been here five years… Grew up an Alabama fan, this is the only place he’s ever wanted to play. For him to get that ball in this game and have the outing that he did means a lot."
It was McNairy's final game at Sewell-Thomas Stadium and after a dominating performance on the mound, the Athens, Alabama native received the picturesque standing ovation that Hollywood writers dream about as chants of "Thank you, Jacob" rained down from the soldout crowd.
"It was kind of emotional," McNairy said. "I don’t really get that emotional a lot. The cheering was awesome, and I looked up in the stands, and this place has been great the past five years."
While a chapter came to a close for McNairy on Sunday, he and Alabama are still writing its playoff manuscript which sees the team making a trip to No. 1 Wake Forest for super regionals with Game 1 beginning on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. While there's plenty on the line when the Demon Deacons and Crimson Tide square off, it's a chance for McNairy to check off that all-elusive preseason goal of advancing to the College World Series.
"You know that when (he's) out there on that mound, that 'A' means more to (him) or as much as whatever logo means to the other guy," Jackson said. "There's nobody that cares about that 'A' then (McNairy). ... Those are the kind of guys you want on the mound in those games for sure."
