Alabama-Kentucky Postgame Quotes and Notes
3/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 27, 2011
Head Coach Mitch Gaspard
Opening statement:
"Tucker Hawley gave us another good start. That gave us three quality starts throughout the weekend. We had a really good first inning offensively, and then when they made their run at us we responded, once in the middle of the game, and then we did it again late. Any time you can sweep someone in the SEC you are doing something right, but I think it all starts on the mound. The difference in the series to me was that our guys were able to take us into the sixth and seventh innings and that shortens down the bullpen for you. It was a good week for us, we played fairly well in all five games, so we get five wins. Now we have to take that into next week."
On the win streak:
"If you back up to last Friday, coming off the Auburn and Ole Miss games, we were anemic offensively, and really couldn't get anything going. All of a sudden Andrew Miller got a two-out hit and it got our offense sparked at that point. We've been able to really generate some offense lately and I think that Josh Rosecrans has helped us a lot in the middle of the lineup. Any time you can get those big guys to produce doubles and home runs and RBIs, it's good. We've had pretty good production from the one, two, and three guys all year, but now we are getting a lot in the middle with Miller, Rosecrans, and Austen Smith starting come along a little bit. Starting to put together a pretty good offense, and that's how you start to win five and six games in a row."
On the production from the middle of the lineup:
"Right now it's the difference between winning and losing. You can hit in the top of the lineup as long as you want but someone has to knock those guys in. Really we benefited from those guys continuing to get on, the middle starting to hit, and a little bit of production from the bottom of the lineup as well. That allows Taylor Dugas and Brock Bennett to get some RBIs as well."
#44 Tucker Hawley, RHP
On his mindset coming into the game:
"Any time you get a chance to sweep somebody you have to go out there and do your best and try to get it. You try to win every series, but if you get a chance for a sweep, that's really huge. It can come into play down the road, because you want to win all the conference games you can, to get a better seed in the tournament."
On the how much each game matters:
"Every game is huge, no matter who it is against, especially in the SEC. Anybody can be beat on any day, so you never know what you are going to get."
On the Kentucky rally during the middle innings:
"I had a few control issues when they got me into the stretch and they got me loose a little bit. But after that I locked in and the offense came back and got some more runs for me."
#6 Josh Rosecrans, DH
On the big first inning:
"It was real big to get the sweep so we came out and wanted to jump on them early. We wanted to put it away early because we knew that Tucker Hawley was going to be good for us."
On when Taylor Dugas doesn't get on base:
"It's huge because we know that he's going to be there hitting everyday, and even if he does have a bad day we have to pick him up because he is always there to pick us up when we don't hit very well."
On Austen Smith and his development:
"I love hitting behind him. He's definitely a big presence in the box, and it means that they have to pitch to both him and me, because we can be dangerous. He's grown big time. All the way from the fall, we have been watching him mature, he's really swinging the bat really well right now and he's going to be a great player."
NOTES
* Alabama increased its winning streak to a season-long seven games. The streak marks the longest since an eight- game winning streak last season which carried the Tide into the SEC Tournament Championship Game against LSU.
* After the sweep of the Wildcats, Alabama is 5-1 in SEC play. It's UA's best start in the league since 2006 when the Tide started 7-1 and finished 20-10 in the SEC.
* Alabama scored four runs on six hits in the first inning, including at one point, five hits in a row. It was the first time that Alabama has had six hits in an inning since April 25, 2010, against Mississippi State.
* Junior shortstop Jared Reaves tallied his first RBI in nine games and increased his team-leading RBI total to 22. Reaves was 2-for-5 on the day with two runs scored, and 8-for-19 (.421) for the week.
* Freshman first baseman Austen Smith had his third game with three or more RBI this season. For the week, Smith was 10-for-20 (.500) with seven RBI and two doubles for Alabama.
* The sweep of Kentucky was Alabama's fourth sweep of the season and the first of the Wildcats since 2005. The last sweep for Alabama was earlier this season on March 11-13 vs. Eastern Illinois.
* Senior left-handed pitcher Jonathan Smart made his team-leading 12th appearance for the Crimson Tide at the start of the eighth inning. Smart went on to record his fifth save of the season, four of which have come in the last seven games.
* Junior center fielder Taylor Dugas went 0-for-5 on the day and did not reach base for the first time in 14 games. It also snapped his 14-game hitting streak, the longest for Alabama this season.
* Junior designated hitter Josh Rosecrans notched his second home run of the week with a two-run blast in the first inning. For the week, Rosecrans went 7-for-16 (.438) with 10 RBI and four runs scored.
