Alabama-Northwestern State Postgame Quotes and Notes - Game 2
3/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 5, 2011
Head Coach Mitch Gaspard
Opening statement:
"I thought that we got a great start from Nathan Kilcrease tonight. That's what we've really been looking for from a pitching standpoint. He took us deep into the game and we got some really good relief work from Jonathan Smart so I think that was the story of the ballgame tonight. We have been really looking for a quality start that we could build on. Right now, with a new team, it feels really good to get a win, especially a couple in a row like this. We have an opportunity to sweep tomorrow and build on the last two games."
On Kilcrease's performance:
"Today was about location. That's been our Achilles heel so far this season, a lot of balls have been left up in the zone and we haven't really been locating two pitches. Today, he had three pitches going for a strike. Anytime you can do that, you are going to get more strikeouts and you are going to force more contact. That's where I think the other parts of the pitching staff need to come forward and follow his lead. Hopefully that was a start that can get us going in the right direction."
#28 Nathan Kilcrease, RHP
On his performance:
"I had good command of the ball tonight. I could locate my pitches pretty well. I could get my fastball anywhere I wanted to down in the zone, and that's what we worked on in the pen. Coach Dax Norris called a great game and we were on the same page most of the time. Everything was just going well."
On his 10 strikeouts:
"I just go out there and throw. A couple guys let me know that I had a couple of strikeouts, but I try not to pay too much attention to it."
On the improvement from last week:
"The bullpen sessions at practice have been a whole lot more intense, and have been getting me more focused. Today, though, it was really difficult to stay focused with the rain. I just had to lock in. Adam Morgan and I are supposed to be a one-two punch and we need to keep pitching like it all season."
NOTES
* Nathan Kilcrease (2-0) had a career-high 10 strikeouts, setting the high water mark for an Alabama pitcher so far this season. Kilcrease surpassed the previous season and career-high of nine he set earlier this year against Alcorn State.
* Kilcrease went 7.0 innings and gave up two unearned runs to collect his second victory. The 7.0 innings pitched by Kilcrease was the longest outing by an Alabama starter so far this season.
* Mitch Gaspard won his second game against Northwestern State where he spent eight years coaching, two as an assistant and six as a head coach.
* Junior second baseman James Tullidge notched his second double, second hit and second RBI of the season following his 1-for-3, one run and one RBI performance versus the Demons.
* Junior shortstop Jared Reaves scored his 11th run of the season and after his 2-for-3 versus Northwestern State, Reaves increased his team-leading batting average to .417 (15-of-36).
* Sophomore right fielder Brandt Hendricks totaled his first RBI of the season with a double in the eighth inning that gave Alabama a 4-2 lead.
* With his 1-for-2, one-run performance versus the Demons, sophomore right fielder Andrew Miller is now 4-for-6 with two runs scored in his last two games.
