Rutledge, Kilcrease Named Players of the Week
5/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 10, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama junior shortstop Josh Rutledge and junior right-hand pitcher Nathan Kilcrease have been selected as players of the week by the Crimson Tide coaching staff, UA head baseball coach Mitch Gaspard announced Monday.
Rutledge hit a team-best .467 (7-for-15) with one home run and six RBI in the series with No. 3 Florida. He compiled a .667 slugging percentage and a .467 on-base mark. Kilcrease was the winning pitcher in his first career SEC start in the series finale as the Tide snapped the Gators season-best seven-game winning streak with a 10-8 win.
"I thought Rutledge and Kilcrease were both keys to our win on Sunday," Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said.
Josh had a big day at the plate with the home run and six RBI. He gave us some real momentum on offense early in the game. I though Peanut (Kilcrease) did a nice job against a really good offensive club. He gave six strong innings and allowed us to pick up a crucial win."
Josh Rutledge went 3-for-5 with a home run and career-high six RBI in the Tide's 10-8 win on Sunday. He slammed a three-run home run in the second inning to give Alabama its first lead of the series at 4-3. His previous high was five RBI, most recently against Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 27, 2010.
The Cullman, Ala., native has hit safely in 23 of the Tide's 24 SEC games this season, including a 15-game hitting streak in SEC play. He leads the Tide with 26 multi-hit games this season and has 76 in his three-year career. Rutledge recorded his 250th career hit on Sunday with a two-run single in the fourth inning. He is the eighth player in Tide history with 250 career hits, joining Andy Phillips (322, 1996-99), Brent Boyd (313, 1999-2002), Joe Caruso (309, 1994-97), Jeremy Brown (307, 1999-2002), G.W. Keller (292, 1997-99), David Magadan (268, 1981-83) and Emeel Salem (259, 2004-07).
Kilcrease made his fifth career start and first career SEC start on the mound against the Gators. He worked 6 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs (6 ER) and nine hits with four strikeouts and one walk. He threw a career-high 107 pitches.
The Phenix City, Ala., native leads the SEC with 27 appearances on the mound this season. He has also allowed the fewest hits (39), fewest runs (16) and fewest earned runs (15) of any pitcher in the league with the NCAA-minimum of one inning per team game. He is second in opponent's batting average (.205), third in ERA (2.56) and fourth in saves (4).
Alabama plays its final non-conference game of the 2010 season Wednesday, May 12, when the Crimson Tide travels to Birmingham to face the Samford Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Alabama will host Mississippi in the final SEC home series of the year this weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The series opener is Friday, May 14, at 6:35 p.m. The teams will also meet Saturday, May 15, at 3:05 p.m. and Sunday, May 16, at 2:05 p.m. The Saturday game will be televised by EPSN2.
