It was Maryland's first-team All-American pitcher against an Alabama freshman, the potential No. 1 overall pick in this year's Major League Baseball draft vs. a player making his first college at-bat.

The freshman -- left-handed right fielder Chandler Taylor -- won the battle, driving a first inning home run to right field that helped the Tide beat Maryland, 3-1, Friday night in Alabama's first game inside the revamped Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

A teammate asked Taylor several innings after he hit the home run how it felt to do that in his first college at-bat.

"I told whoever asked -- I think it was (pitcher Geoffrey Bramblett) who asked me, 'How'd that feel?' -- 'I still can't explain it to be honest,'" Taylor said. "It was breathtaking for sure."

Taylor reached base all four of his plate appearances.

He was 2 for 2 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch and two RBIs.

Taylor's second RBI was a run-scoring single to center in the sixth inning that gave Alabama a 2-1 lead.

It scored shortstop Chandler Avant, who led the inning off with a double down the left field line.

The Tide reached base only nine times and scored just the three runs, but Bramblett allowed only one run and three hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Alabama's bullpen then closed out the game, holding Maryland scoreless during the final 3 2/3 innings while allowing just two hits and issuing only one walk.

So after finishing a disappointing 32-28 last season, the Tide begins this year with a win over a team that has been to the last two NCAA tournaments and was picked to finish second in the Big Ten in the league's preseason coaches poll.

Alabama got the victory in front a sellout crowd of 5,867 at the new Sewell-Thomas Stadium in the Tide's first true home game since 2014 after playing last year's home games in Hoover.

"I think (the stadium and atmosphere) was everything we thought of when this thing started to come into fruition," coach Mitch Gaspard said. "I think this stadium brings interest from the fan base. By them being here and having that energy, it affects your players and motivates them as well. I thought you saw that tonight as the crowd was a part of the energy that we gave out on the field."