Alabama-Mississippi Valley State Postgame Quotes and Notes
4/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 12, 2011
Head Coach Mitch Gaspard
Opening statement
"That was just what we needed right now. After a tough week last week, we came back and had solid pitching all night and got the bats going. That was really good to see. We had pretty good production throughout the lineup and played a good clean game. That was our mission this week after we left Vanderbilt on Sunday. It was just kind of flush that down and get back on track this week. Obviously this was a good start tonight."
On Taylor Dugas hitting in the three hole:
"It's an experiment, just because we have been struggling so much to score runs. Hunter Gregory had two pretty good games in Vanderbilt on Saturday and Sunday, and he's shown the ability to get on base. We put him up there tonight, and tomorrow we are going to put Brock Bennet back in, and we are going to move him to the leadoff spot and stick with Reaves in the two and Dugas in the three. We are just going to see if that sparks us. That's the thing with Taylor, he keeps coming up with nobody on. Even though he sparks the offense, somebody has got to drive in runs. It worked pretty well tonight, but we'll see as we move through the week how we progress with it."
On Dugas' deceptive power:
"The thing about Taylor is that he is a really good offensive player and he does have power for a little guy. He's a guy that can master all facets of the offensive game and really I think whether he is in the one (spot) or three (spot) he's going to be the same type of player because we aren't asking him to do anything different, but he should have more opportunities to drive in runs."
On how Hunter Gregory looked:
"Gregory has played well. I mean for a guy who hasn't played much this year, we popped him in there Saturday and he had a pretty nice game and he had a really good game Sunday. Then tonight he had a couple of walks and that is a spot where we are looking for on-base percentage more than anything. He has a really good eye and he works good, clean at-bats. We have to get him on top of the ball a little more, but right now he is adding a little bit of a spark to our offense."
#5 Brett Booth, 3B
On coming off the tough weekend:
"It was good to get a good offensive showing coming off this weekend. Coming out and getting some offense going heading into this weekend was important."
On the lineup changes:
"Changing a few things up gave Brock the game off tonight and Laddy (Ladson Montgomery) came in and played well. That changes things up a good bit, but we still have to compete and get hits, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight."
On Hunter Gregory:
"You never know who's going to come in and are the spark in the lineup. He's doing a good job and he's taking advantage of his opportunity. He has had some really good at-bats."
#46 Hunter Gregory, LF
On leading off in the starting lineup:
"I was excited. We have a really great leadoff hitter who has been here for several years, and I was just trying to go out there and have some competitive at-bats and get on base. He (Dugas) was batting in the three hole so I had some pretty good guys behind me, so I was just trying to get on base and let him drive me in."
On how a leadoff guy sets the table:
"It means everything to get that first guy on and get the momentum going. We wanted to go out and build some momentum tonight going into the weekend against Tennessee. That first guy getting on and stealing a bag can be instrumental in that."
On how it feels to start:
"It feels good, but I'm just trying to play hard, have competitive at-bats, and play good defense. We have a lot of good guys who we can put in the lineup, so I'm happy to get an opportunity."
NOTES
* Taylor Dugas finished the night 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI. The junior center fielder hit from the No. 3 spot in the batting order for the first time this year and just the third time in his UA career. It ends a 59-game streak in which Dugas has hit from the leadoff spot.
* Junior left fielder Hunter Gregory, hitting from the leadoff spot for the first time all year, notched his first run and second stolen base of the year, while also garnering two walks versus the Delta Devils.
* Freshman first baseman Austen Smith slammed his third home run of the year, a two-run bomb in the seventh inning. Smith reached base in all four of his plate appearances in addition to his home run, with two walks and a hit by pitch. He also stole his fourth base of the year, one of three on the night for the Tide.
* The 10 runs by the Crimson Tide are the most since a season-high 12 versus Eastern Illinois on March 12. Tuesday's game also marked the fourth time Alabama has scored 10 or more runs this season.
* The Crimson Tide improves to 14-0 all-time versus MVSU following Tuesday night's 10-1 victory.
* Four Alabama pitchers combined to pitch the final 5.0 innings on Tuesday, allowing no runs on just two hits while striking out three.
