Alabama-Alcorn State Postgame Quotes and Notes
2/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 19, 2011
Alabama Head Coach Mitch Gaspard
Opening statement:
"I thought it was a well-played game on both sides. On our end, it was encouraging to have back-to-back games with no errors. I thought we played really good defensively. (Nathan) Kilcrease gave us a really good start. On their end, tip your hat to their pitcher (Troy Williams). He did a really nice job, threw a lot of strikes. I thought we had a lot of well-hit balls and a lot of quality at-bats. We didn't have a lot to show for it early, but we were able to stretch the lead. Jared Reaves had a really good day. Early in the season it's nice to play close, competitive games, and I thought that's what today was."
#2 Andrew Miller, RF
On his outfield assist in the seventh inning that preserved the Alabama lead:
"They always say 'if you do good things on defense, you'll do good things at the plate' and it was two good plays. I have to hand it to Brock (Bennett); the throw was a little short but it just happened the way it did. I got a good hop in the outfield, threw it and all of a sudden it was there, so I didn't think about it too much."
#1 Taylor Dugas, CF
On the team's 2-0 start:
"We're a young team, a lot of new guys, but we're forming our identity, and I think it's going to be a great year for us."
NOTES
* Junior center fielder Taylor Dugas opened Saturday's game with a leadoff home run, marking the second time he has led off a game with a home run. Dugas led off last year's Atlanta Regional contest versus Georgia Tech on June 6 with a home run, propelling the Tide to an 8-1 win. Saturday's home run was the fifth of Dugas' career.
* With his homer in the first, Dugas also extended his hitting streak to 10 games dating back to last season's Atlanta Regional opener versus Elon.
* Senior RHP Nathan Kilcrease pitched 6.0 innings allowing just four hits with eight strikeouts. The eight strikeouts tied his previous high of eight set last year against Georgia Tech on June 7 in the Tide's 10-8 Atlanta Regional clinching win.
* Junior shortstop Jared Reaves finished Saturday's game 3-for-3, including two doubles, with 2 RBI and one run scored. Reaves is now a combined 5-for-7 with 2 RBI and four runs scored over two games versus the Braves. Additionally, Reaves has been hit by two pitches meaning he has reached base seven times in nine plate appearances for an on-base percentage of .777.
* Sophomore right fielder Andrew Miller preserved Alabama's 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh inning with the fifth outfield assist of his career, then followed that up with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning for his first hit and first RBI of the year. Miller finished the 2010 season second on the team with four outfield assists.
* Senior catcher Brock Bennett followed up his 2-for-3 opening night with another 2-for-3 performance versus Alcorn State on Saturday. Batting out of the No. 2 spot in the order, Bennett singled twice to make him 4-for-6 on the year.
