Alabama-Vanderbilt Quotes and Notes
4/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 20, 2012
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
COACH Mitch Gaspard
Opening statement
"I thought that we got a good start in today's game. It was Spencer Turnbull's first SEC start and I thought he did really well. He kind of maximized his pitches there, he made pitches when he needed to and kept the game settled down. Offensively we played a few long balls, with some leaving the yard, and I thought that we executed well. We bunted the ball well, and I think we forced them into a couple mistakes. And then the defense goes hand-in-hand with your pitching. When you pitch the ball well you've got a real good chance to defend the field. I thought that tonight was one of the better games that we've played through the course of the year."
On the team maximizing it's hitting opportunities:
"We left the yard a little bit, and hit a couple balls out of the park. We also used our bunting game a little bit to create some offense, and we put ourselves in a position to get a few of those hits. I was pleased with the way we manufactured the runs tonight."
On the thought process behind giving Spencer Turnbull the start tonight:
"We've been grooming him to be a weekend starter. With our struggles on Friday night, it just worked out that he was rested, and was good pitching in the middle of the week. He was always going to be a weekend guy, there was no question about it, and now it's time for him to do it. We'll stay with these three freshmen in some form or fashion. We also wanted to see Kamplain out of the bullpen a little bit this week. We felt like he could pitch twice, tonight and possibly Sunday, and so far it's going pretty well."
#9, Jared Reaves, INF
On his home run tonight:
"It felt great, though right off the bat I wasn't sure how much air it had under it. It's just nice to keep adding to a lead, and then Brett Booth added to it with another home run after me. It's just a great feeling to grab such a lead on somebody, and to keep it."
On what he's doing in practice to work on his hitting:
"I'm just sticking with a single approach, a middle-of-the-field approach. When you get an inside fastball you just have to react to it."
#32, Spencer Turnbull, RHP
On how his first SEC start felt:
"It was a different experience than all my other nights, I think. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, so I just went out there and threw the same as I always do."
On if he feels like he's been building up to this moment all season:
"I think so. I feel like I was expected to be a weekend starter this year, and I never really got there until now. It feels good to finally be at this point."
POST GAME NOTES:
* Today's game marked the first career SEC start for freshman RHP Spencer Turnbull, and his first SEC win.
* Turnbull left the game with 5.1 innings pitched, allowing one unearned run on six hits with two walks and a career high-tying six strikeouts. The freshman from Madison, Miss. threw a career-high 108 pitches, 67 of which were strikes.
* Ben Moore collected his team-leading seventh stolen base in the bottom of the first inning. The freshman, who leads the team with a .340, finished the night 1-for-3 with an RBI. Moore is now third on the team with 21 RBI.
* After Jared Reaves's home run in the bottom of the third, and Brett Booth's homer in the bottom of the fourth, Reaves and Booth both lead the team with four home runs. Booth now leads the Tide with 26 RBI with Reaves in second with 23.
* Jared Reaves now leads the team with 49 total hits after going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in today's game. Reaves registered his 13th multi-hit game of the season, and his ninth game with two total hits.
* Freshman pitcher Jake Hubbard earned his third save of the season tonight on his team-high 21st appearance this season.
* Friday night's 6-4 win over Vanderbilt snapped a four-game losing streak to the Commodores.
* Justin Kamplain made his 11th appearance of the season, just hit third appearance out of the bullpen.
