Baseball Weekly Notebook - May 15, 2011
5/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 16, 2011
Overall Record: 31-22, 13-14 SEC
Weekly Record: 1-2
RESULTS
Saturday, May 14, Alabama lost at Auburn, L, 7-5
Saturday, May 14, Alabama lost at Auburn, L, 8-7
Sunday, May 15, Alabama won at Auburn, W, 7-6
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 19, Alabama vs. No. 3 South Carolina, 6:35 p.m. CT
Friday, May 20, Alabama vs. No. 3 South Carolina, 6:35 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 21, Alabama vs. No. 3 South Carolina, 12:06 p.m. CT (CSS)
Team and Player Notes:
Team Notes
Alabama posted a 1-2 record in a week, dropping its first series of the season to an SEC Western Division team ... the Crimson Tide is 13-14 in SEC play and remains tied for the lead in the SEC Western Division with Auburn, Arkansas, and Mississippi State ... Alabama holds the tie-breaker over both Arkansas and Mississippi State ... the Tide hit .321 for the weekend and is now hitting .279 as a team for the season ... Alabama had at least 10 hits in all three games of the series at Auburn and out-hit the Tigers for the weekend 35-29 ... with the double-digit hit games, the Tide has reached 10 hits in its last four games and nine of its last 10 overall ... Alabama got quality starts in all three games against Auburn, as each starter threw at least six innings, and didn't factor into any of the decisions over the weekend.
Hitting Notes
Senior designated hitter Brett Whitaker was 4-for-10 to lead the Tide on the weekend with a .400 average ... Whitaker had a pinch-hit double in the eighth inning of game one to drive the game-tying run at the time ... started games two and three as the DH posting a .333 average (3-for-9) to increase his season average to .250 (6-for-24) ... junior center fielder Taylor Dugas was 5-for-14 (.357) for the series and had all five hits in his last eight at-bats ... finished the series with two doubles, three RBI and four runs scored ... his two doubles improved his team-leading total to 18, which ranks tied for third in the SEC ... with five hits on the weekend, Dugas ranks 10th all-time at Alabama in career hits with 248 ... Dugas' two doubles moved him into seventh all-time at Alabama with 53 career doubles ... with four runs scored, Dugas has 185 for his career to rank eighth all-time at UA ... Dugas leads the team with five home runs, 18 doubles, 54 runs scored, a .537 slugging percentage and a .439 on-base percentage ... junior shortstop Jared Reaves was 5-for-14 (.357) for the weekend, that included a home run, two doubles, five RBI, and three runs scored ... Reaves' ninth inning home run in game two was his fourth of the season ... with two doubles in the series, Reaves is second on the team with 17 and ranks sixth in the SEC ... Reaves' team-high five RBI during the weekend gives him a team-high 44 RBI for the season, which ranks 10th in the SEC ... Reaves has a .354 average for the season to rank ninth in the SEC ... senior catcher Brock Bennett extended his hit streak to 10 games with a sixth inning single on Sunday ... Bennett had two hits in games one and two and finished the weekend with a .375 average (5-for-13) with one RBI and three runs scored ... in his 10-game hitting streak, Bennett is hitting .500 (21-for-42) with nine multiple hit performances during the past 10 games ... Bennett is tied for the team lead with 24 multi-hit games this season ... freshman first baseman/designated hitter Austen Smith was 4-for-12 (.333) for the weekend and increased his season batting average to .298 ... Smith had a double and two RBI against the Tigers ... Smith is now batting .316 during SEC play, which ranks second on the team, and his 18 RBI during conference play leads the club ... Smith's RBI double in the sixth inning gave Alabama a 3-2 lead on Sunday ... he finished the series finale with two hits for his 15th multi-hit game of the season ... sophomore third baseman Brett Booth notched a career-high three hits in the second game of the series against Auburn ... it was his sixth multiple hit game of the season and ninth of his career ... Booth finished the weekend 4-for-12 with a double, a RBI and two runs scored ... senior second baseman Josh Sanders had a career-high three hits in game two of the series at Auburn ... Sanders is hitting .273 (12-for-44) during SEC play ... sophomore outfielder Andrew Miller got all three hits of the weekend in the series finale on Sunday ... Miller was 3-for-4 with a run scored in Alabama's 7-6 win.
Pitching Notes
Sophomore right-hander Tucker Hawley made his first appearance since April 3 and first relief appearance of the season on Sunday at Auburn ... Hawley got the win in the series finale to improve to 6-2 on the year after throwing 2.0 innings to close out the game on Sunday ... senior lefty Jonathan Smart threw 7.0 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits in his fourth start of the season on Sunday ... after giving up two runs on three hits in the first inning, Smart retired 12 straight hitters and did not give up another hit until a leadoff double in the seventh inning ... Smart has a 4-1 record, leads the team with a 2.21 ERA in 61.0 innings pitched for the season ... he also leads the team with 26 appearances with nine saves to rank tied for second and tied for fourth, respectively, in the SEC ... junior lefty Adam Morgan threw 6.0 innings in a no decision on Saturday ... after allowing three runs on three hits in the first inning, Morgan retired 13 straight hitters and 17 of the last 20 batters he faced ... he finished the game allowing three runs on four hits with seven strikeouts ... Morgan has thrown at least six innings in his last 10 starts ... Morgan has a 5-4 record with a 3.89 ERA, and leads the team with 81.0 innings pitched and 67 strikeouts ... senior right-handed pitcher Nathan Kilcrease had a no decision after throwing 6.0 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in the series opener at Auburn.
