Alabama-Tennessee Postgame Quotes and Notes
4/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 14, 2011
Head Coach Mitch Gaspard
Opening statement:
"Coming in we felt good tonight. After the last two games we've been pretty good offensively. Our batting practice today was really good and it just moved right into the ballgame. We had pretty good offensive pressure in the majority of the innings. I thought Nathan Kilcrease settled in and pitched well. I thought we defended really well, made some nice plays and then Jonathan Smart came in, finished the last two innings and did a nice job. I thought overall it was a good, clean game and really this week, the last three games we've played really well."
On getting the momentum back:
"I think our guys have done a great job of responding after a tough weekend at Vanderbilt. Like I said a couple of days ago: we emphasized putting the weekend behind us, let's learn from it, but really get after this week and keep it rolling. Right now we're in a better place offensively than we've been throughout the season. We're getting pretty good at-bats one through nine, Hunter Gregory has given us something down at the bottom, Andrew Miller had a good night tonight, so I like where we're at right now."
On Alabama's defense:
"Brett Booth has been tremendous at third base. Jared Reaves leads the SEC in assists, and he's really defended well and really throughout the field. We're fielding about .975, which is a little higher than we did last year, and I think the pitching and the bat attributes to that too. We're getting a lot of ground balls and the guys are doing a nice job of picking them up and throwing them out."
On Nathan Kilcrease's performance:
"The first inning he wasn't real sharp but as the game got going he got a feel for the game and settled in and did what he had to do. He just beats you up with strikes. He throws three pitches at any time and typically works ahead. Our team is so confident when he is on the mound. You see us play our best defense when he is on the mound, because they are so confident he is going to put us in position to win the game."
#28 Nathan Kilcrease, RHP
On pitching through his slow start:
"Coming back off the rough outing last Friday night, I came out and walked the first batter on four straight pitches and really just had to dig deep and find it somewhere. We started going to the slider early in the game, mixing it up, pitching backwards a little bit, and it gave me some confidence going into the middle of the game. Then, we just started pitching straight up with the fastball."
On pitching at home:
"You come out and the home crowd just gives it to you, and you just get fired up. You go on the road and everyone is just chirping in your ear, you don't let it get to you, but it's out there. Coming back home, in a big series at home, my job coming out is to give us the win on Friday night."
#2 Andrew Miller, RF
On the two-out hit in the first inning:
"It turned the game around. That was a big moment in the game. Bases loaded, two outs, it's always good to get a two-out hit when you're down."
On the mood of the team heading into the bottom of the first:
"We weren't down. We knew it was a nine inning game. It was only the first inning and we weren't down at all. We just came out and played our game."
On the bats coming alive over the past three games:
"We've been swinging the bats pretty well the past couple of days, and once you get going, you get going. That's part of baseball and hopefully we can keep it going."
NOTES
* Sophomore right fielder Andrew Miller finished the night 3-for-3 with one run scored and three RBI. Miller reached base in all four of his plate appearances, including his team-leading 11th hit by pitch of the season.
* Freshman first baseman Austen Smith wrapped up another solid performance at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored versus the Vols. In his last three games, Smith is a combined 6-for-10 with four runs scored and four RBI.
* Junior shortstop Jared Reaves added his SEC-leading sixth sacrifice fly of the season in the sixth inning as part of his 2-for-4, one run, one RBI night.
* Sophomore third baseman Brett Booth and junior left fielder Hunter Gregory hit a combined 4-for-7 with two runs scored and three RBI hitting from the No. 7 and No. 8 spots in the order, respectively. Gregory also notched his first double of the season with an extra-base knock in the third inning.
* Junior center fielder Taylor Dugas reached base for the 12th consecutive game versus the Vols.
* Senior right-handed pitcher Nathan Kilcrease notched his fifth victory of the season after pitching 7.0 innings, allowing two runs and striking out five. All five of Kilcrease's victories have come at Sewell-Thomas Stadium this season.
