Alabama-Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes and Notes
3/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 23, 2011
Head Coach Mitch Gaspard
Opening statement:
"I thought Trey Pilkington had a really good start tonight and gave us just what you want to see in midweek games. He took us deep into the game. Offensively we had the big inning early where we scored five and was able to get on top. We had some hiccups there in the back end of the game on the mound. But overall I was really pleased with Pilkington and I thought our offense certainly did enough. It was good to see Josh Rosecrans get going for us. Midweek wins are tough to get, we've had back-to-back wins, I'm certainly pleased with that and excited to get to Kentucky this weekend."
On putting pressure on the defense:
"I think we've done a better job of that. I thought we did a good job of it versus Mississippi. We're about 70, 80 percent right now with our bunts and we want to be a little better than that. For the most part, we are improving with our bunt game and our hit-and-runs kind of add in there as well."
On the two safety squeeze plays versus JSU:
"It's really indefensible if you put down a quality bunt. We were fortunate, the kid threw it away and we ended up scoring a couple, and then tried to come back to it again. We just have to get the bunt closer to the line next time. That's a play we'll use a lot with a guy at third base and less than two outs, especially when we're down in the (bottom half) of the lineup because you can't defense it if you put a good bunt down."
On Josh Rosecrans' performance:
"That was good to see. Josh was a junior college All-American, had really big numbers and has struggled a little bit. But today he got going with the home run and the double down the line. We're going to need him. He's a middle of the lineup force and it would be great for him to get hot as we're heading into conference play."
#11, Trey Pilkington, RHP
On his performance versus Jacksonville State:
"I was just doing what the coaches have always told me to do. Just go out there and try to pound the strike zone with low strikes and keep it going as long as they needed me out there and give our team a chance to win the game."
On being from Oxford, Ala., and having his first career start come against JSU:
"I just went out there and did what the coaches have always told me to do and keep the same mentality no matter who I pitch against."
NOTES
* Junior DH Josh Rosecrans finished the day 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs, including a solo home run. The four RBI are a career-high for Rosecrans in a Tide uniform. He is now tied for the team lead in home runs and third in RBI.
* Junior center fielder Taylor Dugas increased his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the fourth inning. Dugas reached base in four of his five plate appearances, which included three walks and a single, while scoring two runs to increase his team-leading total to 24.
* Freshman first baseman Austen Smith turned in another solid hitting performance in Wednesday's game, finishing the day 2-for-5 with one RBI. In the two midweek games versus UAB and JSU, Smith was a combined 5-for-9 with four RBI and a run scored.
* Sophomore RHP Trey Pilkington pitched a career-high 6.1 innings, allowing four runs, three of which were earned, and six hits while striking out three in his first career start at Alabama. For his efforts, Pilkington notched his first career victory in an Alabama uniform.
* Freshman RHP Case Nixon made his debut appearance for the Crimson Tide in the eighth inning of Wednesday's game versus JSU.
* The five runs in the third matched the Tide's highest output in a single inning this year. Alabama also scored five runs in the fifth inning versus Alcorn State in an 8-1 victory on Feb. 20.
