2011 Alabama Baseball Season Recap
6/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 22, 2011
2011 Baseball Season Recap Packet
The Alabama baseball team posted a 35-28 overall record and earned the school's fourth straight and 22nd overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection. For the second straight year and 15th time in school history, Alabama advanced to a NCAA Regional championship game. The season came to a close with an 11-1 loss to the Regional No. 1 seed and sixth-ranked Florida State.
Alabama posted a 14-16 record in Southeastern Conference play and was in a battle for the Western Division title the entire season. The Crimson Tide finished tied for second place in the Western Division, just one game behind Arkansas. UA finished tied for sixth place overall in the SEC with Mississippi State and Auburn, and its seventh straight appearance in the SEC Tournament as the seventh seed overall.
Alabama posted a 21-12 (.636) non-conference record, while posting an 18-8 (.692) record against non-conference foes during the regular season. The Tide was tough to beat at home, posting a 25-8 (.757) record at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. In 33 home outings, 128,854 fans came through the gates at The Joe, helping Alabama finish 12th in the country in total attendance, while the 3,904 average per game was also 12th nationally.
UA Makes SEC Tournament for Seventh Straight Year
Alabama finished tied for sixth overall in the Southeastern Conference standings and earned the seven seed in the 2011 SEC Baseball Tournament. By advancing to the SEC Tournament, the Crimson Tide made their seventh straight conference tournament appearance. The seven straight SEC Tournament appearances are the second longest active streak in the conference. South Carolina has not missed the SEC Tournament since 1996.
All-SEC Performers
Junior center fielder Taylor Dugas was selected as a Second-Team All-Southeastern Conference outfielder and was selected to the SEC All-Defensive Team. The Lafayette, La., native led the team in eight major offensive categories including: batting average (.349), slugging percentage (.564), on-base percentage (.455), runs (60), hits (84), triples (4), home runs (8) and walks (41) and led the team with a .317 average during SEC play.
Both Josh Rosecrans and Nathan Kilcrease earned SEC Player of the Week honors in 2011. Josh Rosecrans was selected as the SEC Player of the Week on March 28 after posting a .438 (7-for-16) average in four starts as the designated hitter. He finished the week with a pair of home runs, 10 RBI and four runs scored. After throwing a complete game against No. 2 South Carolina on May 19, Kilcrease was selected as the SEC Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career. Kilcrease out-dueled USC ace Michael Roth for a 2-1 win, allowing just five hits and one unearned run in his second complete game of the season and third of his career.
Gaspard Update
In two seasons at Alabama, head coach Mitch Gaspard has led the Tide to a 77-53 (.592) overall record, while guiding UA to a NCAA Regional appearance in both seasons. Gaspard completed his eighth season as a Division I head coach (six years at Northwestern State) and has a career record of 287-191 (.600). He's guided three teams to NCAA Regional appearances (UA: 2010 and 2011; NWSU: 2005) and has an 8-7 overall record in NCAA Tournament games. Including his 11 NCAA Regional appearances as an assistant coach, Gaspard has been part of 14 NCAA Tournament teams in his 23 years in Division I baseball.
NCAA Tournament Review
Alabama made its fourth straight NCAA Regional appearance, eighth in the last 10 years, and 22nd overall with an at-large selection in 2011. The Crimson Tide competed in the Tallahassee Regional with Bethune Cookman, Central Florida and Florida State. Alabama posted a 2-2 record against UCF (2-0) and FSU (0-2), and advanced to the championship game against the Seminoles. Alabama had four players named to the Tallahassee All-Regional Team with position players Taylor Dugas and Jared Reaves and pitchers Nathan Kilcrease and Jonathan Smart earning all-tournament honors.
Following this year's performance in the NCAA Regional, the Crimson Tide owns a 66-46 (.592) NCAA Tournament record, which includes Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series play. After posting a pair of wins over Central Florida and two losses to Florida State, the Crimson Tide are 52-34 (.625) in NCAA Regional play since its postseason debut in 1947. After advancing to the Tallahassee Regional championship game in 2011, Alabama has played in 15 NCAA Regional championship games in its history and has captured seven NCAA Regional titles, including 1950, 1983, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2006 and 2010.
Head Coach Mitch Gaspard in the NCAA Tournament
As a head coach, Mitch Gaspard made his third NCAA Regional appearance and second straight with the Crimson Tide. In Gaspard's first season at the Capstone, he led the Tide to an Atlanta Regional Championship, defeating the No. 8 overall seed Georgia Tech. Gaspard also took Northwestern (La.) State to the 2005 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, where the Demons posted a 1-2 record with a win over Marist. Including his time as an assistant coach, Gaspard has appeared in 14 NCAA Tournaments, while leading Alabama to regional championship game appearances in his first two seasons at the Capstone.
Alabama Versus Teams in the 2011 NCAA Tournament
Before the start of the NCAA Regional, Alabama played 26 games against teams that made the 2011 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. In those 26 games, the Crimson Tide posted an 11-15 record. Alabama was 7-4 at home, 3-7 on the road and 1-4 in neutral site games. The list of opponents to make this year's tournament field included Alcorn State (3-0), Arkansas (3-2), Central Florida (0-1), Florida (0-4), Georgia (0-1), Mississippi State (2-1), South Carolina (1-2), Southern Mississippi (1-1), Troy (1-0), and Vanderbilt (0-3).
In the Record Books
Junior outfielder Taylor Dugas made the biggest impression in the Alabama baseball record books following his third season at the Capstone. After finishing his junior season with team-highs in batting average (.349), runs (60), hits (84), triples (4), and walks (41), and second in doubles with 20, he now ranks in the top 10 for his career in all six categories. Dugas is third all-time in triples (11) and walks (127), sixth in runs scored (191), seventh in batting average (.365) and doubles (55), and eighth in career hits (263).
Brock Bennett set a single season school record with 21 sacrifice bunts during the 2011 season. Combined with his seven sac bunts entering the season, he tied Allen Rice (2002-05) for the school record with 28 career sacrifice bunts.
Nathan Kilcrease finished his Alabama career with a school record 88 appearances. With his final start against Central Florida in the opening game of the Tallahassee Regional, Kilcrease passed Lance Cormier (1999-2002) for the most appearances on the mound in school history. Additionally, Kilcrease finished tied for sixth all-time with 23 wins. His 240 strikeouts rank seventh all time and his 278.0 innings in four seasons are the sixth most recorded by an Alabama pitcher.
Jared Reaves made an immediate impression in the Alabama record books. Reaves' team-leading 22 doubles in his first season at the Capstone tied for the fourth most in one year by an Alabama player. Reaves finished the season with a team-high 47 RBI and was second on the squad with a .340 batting average while starting all 63 games at shortstop. Reaves and Taylor Dugas were the only two players on the team to start all 63 games in 2011.
Jonathan Smart emerged as the closer midway through the season and finished the year with 11 saves in 11 chances. Smart, who posted a team-best 2.50 ERA, tied Lance Cormier and Skip Ames for fourth in a single season with 11 saves, while his 11 career saves tied for eighth all-time at UA.
Brock Bennett Named to Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year Watch List
Senior catcher Brock Bennett was one of 42 players named to the 2011 Johnny Bench Award watch list. Bennett had just two errors in 379 chances to post a team-best ,992 fielding percentage. Additionally, he threw out 19-of-58 base runners (33 percent) attempting to steal and picked off three runners. He finished his final season at Alabama with a .338 batting average, which was third on the team, and led the squad with an Alabama single-season record of 21 sacrifice bunts. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 33rd round of the 2011 MLB Draft.
Brett Whitaker Named Academic All-American
Alabama senior relief pitcher Brett Whitaker was named to the Capital One Academic District 4 Second Team selection. Whitaker, a native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., carries a cumulative grade point average of 3.87 in human performance/exercise science. Primarily a relief pitcher, Whitaker appeared in 17 games on the mound, with a 1-0 record and a 3.79 ERA. Offensively, Whitaker hit .238 for the season with a home run and four RBI.
Jonathan Smart Named to Stopper of the Year Watch List
Senior left-handed pitcher Jonathan Smart was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. Smart, who was one of 46 Division I pitchers selected to the list, led the Tide and was fifth in the SEC with 11 saves. He had a 5-3 record with a 2.50 ERA in 86.1 innings pitched, and his team-high 31 appearances (including seven starts) ranks third in the conference. Smart has converted all 11 save opportunities this season and has finished 19 games for Alabama.
2011 MLB Draft Recap
The Alabama baseball team had four players selected in this year's draft, while three signees had their names called. The four players selected were junior pitcher Adam Morgan, junior center fielder Taylor Dugas, senior pitcher Nathan Kilcrease and senior catcher Brock Bennett. Morgan, a 6-2 left-handed pitcher, was selected with the 120th pick overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in the third round. Dugas was selected in the eighth round by the Chicago Cubs, the 249th pick overall. Kilcrease was the 916th pick overall and was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 30th round. Bennett was the fourth player drafted and was the 1,017th player selected when the San Francisco Giants picked the senior catcher in the 33rd round. Alabama also had three signees selected in the 2011 MLB Draft. Junior college pitcher Ian Gardeck was picked in the eighth round by the Chicago White Sox with the 261st pick. Justin Kamplain was selected in the 22nd round by the St. Louis Cardinals, and Taylor Guilbeau was the final player selected when the New York Yankees picked him 1,199th overall in the 39th round. With this season's four players from the current roster drafted, Alabama has had at least one player selected in the MLB Draft for the past 33 years. The Crimson Tide has had at least one player drafted every year since 1979.
