2010 Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team

2010 Alabama Crimson Tide baseball

Atlanta, GA Regional Champions
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	West
2010 record	42-25 (15-15 SEC)
Head coach	Mitch Gaspard (1st year)
Hitting coach	Dax Norris
Pitching coach	Kyle Bunn
Home stadium	Sewell-Thomas Stadium

2010 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Eastern
#7 Florida ^x†	22	–	8	.733	47	–	17	.734
#1 South Carolina	21	–	9	.700	54	–	16	.771
#14 Vanderbilt	16	–	12	.571	46	–	20	.697
Kentucky	13	–	17	.433	31	–	25	.554
Tennessee	12	–	18	.400	30	–	26	.536
Georgia	5	–	23	.179	16	–	37	.302
Western
#19 Auburn ^x	20	–	10	.667	43	–	21	.672
#13 Arkansas	18	–	12	.600	43	–	21	.672
Ole Miss	16	–	14	.533	39	–	24	.619
#16 Alabama	15	–	15	.500	42	–	25	.627
LSU ‡	14	–	16	.467	41	–	22	.651
Mississippi State	6	–	24	.200	23	–	33	.411

x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion As of June 29, 2010; Rankings from Baseball America

The 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team will represent the University of Alabama in the NCAA Division I baseball season of 2010. The Crimson Tide play their home games in Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama was given the #7 seed in the 2010 SEC Baseball Tournament, they beat #2 Auburn, #6 Ole Miss, and #1 Florida on their way to the championship game. They would be defeated 4-3 by LSU in 11 innings. The Crimson Tide was then selected to play in the 2010 NCAA Baseball Tournament, as the #2 seed in the Atlanta, GA Regional. Alabama went 4-1 and beat #8 national seed Georgia Tech twice to advance to the Super Regionals. Alabama's Nathan Kilcrease was named the MVP of the regional. The Crimson Tide fell Clemson in the Super Regionals.

Preview

Pitching

First-year pitching coach Kyle Bunn coach must find a way to replace two-thirds of the Crimson Tide’s starting rotation from last year’s team. Fifth-year senior Austin Hyatt (8-3, 3.76 ERA) logged more than 100 innings last season en route to All-American and All-SEC honors, while two-way standout Del Howell (5-3, 6.33 ERA) opted for the MLB draft after his junior season. Bunn, who has built solid reputation at Mississippi and Clemson for developing arms into solid weekend warriors, will now try his hand with an Alabama staff that has a nice blend of veterans and newcomers. Sophomore left-hander Adam Morgan (13 G, 9 GS, 4-2, 4.17 ERA) is the lone returning weekend starter for the Tide. He posted some key wins last season for the Crimson Tide, including his SEC debut against No. 1 ranked Georgia. Juniors Jason Townsend, Jonathan Smart and Jimmy Nelson will also contend for starting jobs on the mound. Townsend spent the last two seasons at Chipola Junior College and has a solid fall for the Crimson Tide. Smart, who missed the 2009 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, was a pleasant surprise this fall on the mound and emerged as one of the Tide’s top arms. Nelson is in his third season with the Tide and has pitched as both a starter and reliever in his career. The bullpen should be anchored by senior David Head, junior Nathan Kilcrease, senior Adam Scott and sophomore Tyler White. The Crimson Tide will also have the services of six freshmen, including Tucker Hawley, Trey Pilkington, Matt Taylor, Adam Windsor and Taylor Wolfe, all of whom showed great promise this fall on the mound. Taylor is also a two-way player and could see time in the outfield because of his speed and arm strength. Junior college transfer Brett Whitaker is another two-way player that will likely see action on the mound. He is also an excellent hitter and suited for the role of DH or pinch-hitter.

Catchers

What the Crimson Tide lacks in experience, it makes up for it with talent and depth behind the plate this season. Alabama enters the 2010 season with five catchers on its active roster, but only two of those five catchers have seen game action for the Crimson Tide. Senior Cody Trotter (.342, 3 HR, 11 RBI) has the most experience with 12 games under his belt before an elbow injury ended his season in early April last season. Trotter underwent extensive rehab this summer and fall and was able to return to the lineup by the middle of fall camp. Junior Brock Bennett is the only other catcher with any game experience and is one of the Tide’s top defensive backstops. He has played in five games during his two-year career. Junior Chris Smelley and freshman Brett Booth are both talented players and offensive and defensive depth to the Tide’s lineup this season. Smelley and Booth both bring a quarterbacks mentality to the Tide’s catching lineup, as both were successful high school signal callers. Smelley, who also played quarterback at South Carolina before transferring to Alabama for the 2009 season, was an all-state performer at American Christian Academy in Tuscaloosa in both football and baseball. Booth led the Tuscaloosa County High School Wildcats to back-to-back perfect regular seasons in 2007 and 2008. That experience should help both players and the catching position. Smelley could also play first base and DH for the Tide this season. Booth worked a third base and saw action on the mound for the Tide this fall. Freshman walk-on Charley Waldrep missed most of the fall with a back injury and could redshirt this year.

Infield

The strength of the 2010 Alabama baseball team has to start in the infield, where the Crimson Tide returns all four starters from last year’s squad. The Tide welcomes back senior first baseman Clay Jones (.331, 7 HR, 39 RBI), junior second baseman Ross Wilson (.353, 9 HR, 47 RBI), junior shortstop Josh Rutledge (.305, 5 HR, 44 RBI) and senior third baseman Jake Smith (.359, 18 HR, 54 RBI). Smith and Wilson are 2010 preseason All-Americans, while Rutledge, Smith and Wilson were first-team All-SEC selections in 2009. Smith and Wilson were also named to the 2009 SEC All-Defensive Team. Smith, a two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection, made only five errors at third base last season. That quartet combined to hit .336 (264-for-785) with 39 home runs and 184 RBI last season. With the abundance of talent and experience, Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard thinks the Crimson Tide will field one of the finest infields in the nation this season. "I feel like we have a chance to have one of the best infields in the country," Gaspard said. "We have a lot of talent and experience in the infield and they are all leaders on this team. Smith and Jones are solid corner-infielders, who will hit for average and power. Wilson and Rutledge will be together for the third straight year and have formed one of the best middle infields in the country." The Crimson Tide will also have the services of senior Cal Tinsley, juniors John David Smelser and Josh Sanders and freshmen Danny Collins and Allen Dye this season.

Outfield

Sophomore Taylor Dugas, who earned All-SEC and All-American honors as a freshman last season, anchors the Cirmson Tide outfield this season. Dugas will move from left field to centerfield this season, after a steallar rookie season in which he hit .352 (83-for-236) with two home runs and 27 RBI in 56 games. He led the team in hits (83) and doubles (20) and ranked third in runs scored (61) and fourth in hitting. Alabama will be looking to replace Kent Matthes, the 2009 NCAA home run leader, and Alex Kubal in the outfield this season. Matthes hit .358 with 28 home runs and 81 RBI last season en route to being named a consensus All-American in 2009. Kubal hit .313 with four home runs nad 16 RBI and turned in a number of highlight-reel catches in centerfield the last two seasons. A trio of freshmen are among the candidates to replace Matthes and Kubal this season. The Tide will look to redshirt freshman Brandt Hendricks, true freshman Andrew Miller and redshirt freshman Kent Myer to fill those shoes in 2010. All three are talented players, but all three missed some or all of the fall with significant injuries. Miller missed the first two weeks while recovering from a broken ankle sustained during the summer. He returned to the lineup in the middle of the fall and showed why he was one of the top high school players in the state of Alabama. Hendricks suffered a broken ankle the first week of fall and did not return, while Myer suffered a broken leg during the second week and missed the remaining practice time. Both should be back in the fold this spring and competing for the two outfield slots or DH. Sophomore Jon Kelton and junior David Kindred will also compete for playing time in the outfield this season. Kelton can also play in the infield and is a provides a capable left-hand bat, while Kindred has experience with stints at Mississippi and Shelton State CC.

Personnel

2010 Roster

2010 Alabama Crimson Tide roster

Pitchers

7 Brett Whitaker - Junior
11 Trey Pilkington - Freshman
18 Adam Scott - Senior'
21 Adam Windsor - Freshman
23 Tyler White - Sophomore
24 Matt Taylor - Freshman
26 Jonathan Smart - Junior
27 Taylor Wolfe - Freshman
28 Nathan Killcrease - Junior
29 Jason Townsend - Junior
32 Adam Morgan - Sophomore
33 David Head - Senior
36 Troy Sutherland - Freshman
39 James Tullidge - Sophomore
40 Jimmy Nelson - Junior
44 Tucker Hawley - Freshman
46 Kelby Deerman - Freshman

Catchers

5 Brett Booth - Freshman
15 Cody Trotter - Senior
22 Chris Smelley - Junior
37 Charley Waldrep - Freshman
41 Brock Bennett - Junior

Infielders

2 Josh Rutledge - Junior
3 Ross Wilson - Junior
14 Jake Smith - Senior
16 Clay Jones - Senior
20 Danny Collins - Freshman
34 John David Smelser - Junior
35 Josh Sanders - Junior
38 Cal Tinsley - Senior
42 Allen Dye - Freshman

Utility

10 Jon Kelton - Sophomore

Outfielders

1 Taylor Dugas - Sophomore
6 Kent Myers - Freshman
9 Andrew Miller - Freshman
12 Brandt Hendricks - Freshman
13 David Kindred - Junior

2010 Alabama Crimson Tide Baseball Roster & Bios http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/alab-m-basebl-mtt.html#Numerical

Coaching Staff

2010 Alabama Crimson Tide baseball coaching staff
8 Mitch Gaspard - Head Coach - 10 years at Alabama (1st as Head Coach) 4 Dax Norris - Assistant Coach, Hitting Coach, Recruiting Coordinator - 4 years 19 Kyle Bunn - Assistant Coach, Pitching Coach - 1st year 43 Bobby Barbier - Volunteer Coach - 1st year 25 Alex Kubal - Fifth-year student assistant coach Drew French - Director of Operations - 3 years

2010 Alabama Crimson Tide Baseball Coaches & Bios http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/m-basebl-coaches.html

Schedule/Results

2010 Alabama Crimson Tide Baseball Game Log

Regular Season

February

#	Date	Opponent	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	SEC Record
1	February 20	South Alabama	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	12-4	A. Morgan (1-0)	J. Bailey (0-1)	None	4,848	1–0	–
2	February 21	South Alabama	Stanky Field	5-3	T. White (1-0)	B. Brown (0-1)	J. Smith (1)	3,273	2–0	–
3	February 26	Illinois-Chicago	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	9-4	N. Kilcrease (1-0)	C. Kovacevich (0-2)	None	3,667	3–0	–
4	February 27	Illinois-Chicago	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	25-1	J. Nelson (1-0)	E. Wyman (0-2)	None	4,577	4–0	–
5	February 27	Illinois-Chicago	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	4-3	B. Whitaker (1-0)	M. Heesch (0-1)	None	4,577	5–0	–

March

#	Date	Opponent	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	SEC Record
–	March 2	Samford	Joe Lee Griffin Stadium	Postponed
6	March 3†	#25 Georgia	Regions Park	13-2	T. Wolfe (1-0)	C. Hawkins (0-1)	None	792	6–0	–
7	March 5	College of Charleston	Patriots Point	6-2	A. Morgan (2-0)	D. Peterson (1-1)	B. Whitaker (1)	417	7–0	–
8	March 6	College of Charleston	Patriots Point	4-0	J. Nelson (2-0)	C. Powell (2-1)	None	768	8–0	–
9	March 7	College of Charleston	Patriots Point	6-7	T. Schiller (3-0)	J. Smith (0-1)	None	731	8–1	–
–	March 9†	Auburn	Riverwalk Stadium	Postponed
–	March 10	Michigan State	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	Cancelled
10	March 12	Stony Brook	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	15-8	T. White (2-0)	T. Johnson (1-1)	None	3,637	9–1	–
11	March 13	Stony Brook	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	5-0	J. Nelson (3-0)	N. Tropeano (1-1)	D. Head (1)	3,623	10–1	–
12	March 13	Stony Brook	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	13-6	T. Wolfe (2-0)	M. Barbot (0-1)	None	3,623	11–1	–
13	March 14	Stony Brook	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	4-3	J. Smart (1-0)	A. Brown (0-2)	T. White (1)	3,540	12–1	–
14	March 16	Minnesota	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	5-4	D. Head (1-0)	T. Ryan (0-1)	None	4,056	13–1	–
15	March 17	Minnesota	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	9-4	A. Windsor (1-0)	S. Fern (1-3)	None	4,044	14–1	–
16	March 19	#19 Vanderbilt	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	4-1	A. Morgan (3-0)	S. Gray (3-2)	B. Whitaker (2)	4,428	15–1	1–0
17	March 20	#19 Vanderbilt	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	8-2	J. Nelson (4-0)	T. Hill (3-1)	None	4,512	16–1	2–0
18	March 21	#19 Vanderbilt	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	4-5	J. Armstrong (3-0)	T. Wolfe (2-1)	R. Brewer (3)	3,541	16–2	2–1
19	March 24†	Auburn	Riverwalk Stadium	6-8	M. Hurst (2-0)	J. Smart (1-1)	A. Hubbard (3)	7,205	16–3	–
20	March 26	#16 Arkansas	Baum Stadium	8-9	T. Forrest (3-0)	B. Whitaker (1-1)	D. Baxendale (6)	8,942	16–4	2–2
21	March 27	#16 Arkansas	Baum Stadium	3-4	J. Pratt (1-0)	T. White (2-2)	None	8,332	16–5	2–3
22	March 28	#16 Arkansas	Baum Stadium	5-10	T. Forrest (4-0)	A. Scott (0-1)	None	7,130	16–6	2–4
23	March 30	Jacksonville State	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	7-3	T. Pilkington (1-0)	K. Elwell (1-2)	None	3,760	17–6	–
24	March 31	UAB	Regions Park	4-6	B. Waite (1-0)	T. Hawley (0-1)	N. Graffeo (3)	2,281	17–7	–

April

#	Date	Opponent	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	SEC Record
25	April 2	Auburn	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	10-5	A. Morgan (4-0)	C. Luckie (1-2)	None	5,112	18–7	3–4
26	April 3	Auburn	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	6-5	J. Townsend (1-0)	A. Hubbard (2-1)	N. Kilcrease (1)	5,306	19–7	4–4
27	April 4	Auburn	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	1-7		T. Wolfe (2-1)		4,350	19–8	4–5
28	April 6	UAB	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	4-11		J. Townsend (1-1)		3,895	19–9	–
29	April 7	Jacksonville State	Rudy Abbott Field	10-4				3,392	20–9	–
30	April 9	Kentucky	Cliff Hagan Stadium	6-7				2,179	20–10	4–6
31	April 10	Kentucky	Cliff Hagan Stadium	2-8				2,098	20–11	4–7
32	April 11	Kentucky	Cliff Hagan Stadium	11-9				1,953	21–11	5–7
33	April 13	Samford	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	5-7				3,819	21–12	–
34	April 14	#23 SE Louisiana	Pat Kennelly Diamond	10-5				2,108	22–12	–
35	April 16	#6 LSU	Alex Box Stadium	5-12				11,332	22–13	5–8
36	April 17	#6 LSU	Alex Box Stadium	7-9				12,313	22–14	5–9
37	April 18	#6 LSU	Alex Box Stadium	5-6				10,744	22–15	5–10
38	April 23	Mississippi State	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	8-5				4,037	23–15	6–10
39	April 24	Mississippi State	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	9-8				4,828	24–15	7–10
40	April 25	Mississippi State	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	6-4				4,828	25–15	8–10
41	April 27	Mississippi Valley State	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	7-4			3,404		26–15	–
42	April 28	Mississippi Valley State	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	5-1				3,453	27–15	–
43	April 30	#3 South Carolina	Carolina Stadium	7-9				8,145	27–16	8–11

May

#	Date	Opponent	Site/Stadium	Score	Attendance	Overall Record	SEC Record
44	May 1	#3 South Carolina	Carolina Stadium	6-4	8,053	28–16	9–11
45	May 2	#3 South Carolina	Carolina Stadium	15-20	8,006	9–12
46	May 7	#3 Florida	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	3-9	4,387	28–18	9–13
47	May 8	#3 Florida	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	8-14	4,273	28–19	10–13
48	May 9	#3 Florida	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	10-8	4,317	29–19	10–14
49	May 12	Samford	Joe Lee Griffin Stadium	7-8	1,835	29–20	10–14
50	May 14	#14 Ole Miss	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	4-5	4,039	29–21	10–15
51	May 15	#14 Ole Miss	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	4-1	4,723	30–21	11–15
52	May 16	#14 Ole Miss	Sewell-Thomas Stadium	6-3	4,034	31–21	12–15
53	May 20	Tennessee	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	11-3	2,304	32–21	13–15
54	May 21	Tennessee	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	4-2	2,487	33–21	14–15
55	May 22	Tennessee	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	9-7	1,694	34–21	15–15

Post-Season

SEC Tournament

#	Date	Opponent	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	SECT Record
56	May 26	#13 Auburn	Regions Park	7-1	J. Nelson (8-2)	C. Luckie (6-4)	None	12,514	35-21	1-0
57	May 27	Ole Miss	Regions Park	6-3	N. Kilcrease (6-2)	A. Barret (7-4)	J. Smith (4)	12,180	36-21	2-0
58	May 29	#4 Florida	Regions Park	5-2	A. Morgan (6-4)	T. Toledo (3-2)	None	11,542	37-21	3-0
59	May 30	LSU	Regions Park	3-4 (11)	A. Ranaudo (5-2)	J. Smith (1-2)	None	13,327	37-22	3-1

NCAA Tournament: Regionals

#	Date	Opponent	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	NCAAT Record
60	June 4	Elon	Russ Chandler Stadium	11-2	N. Kilcrease (7-2)	J. Reyes (10-4)	None	1,257	38-22	1-0
61	June 5	#8 Georgia Tech	Russ Chandler Stadium	2-5	D. McGuire (9-4)	J. Nelson (8-3)	A. Robinson (8)	4,157	38-23	1-1
62	June 6	Mercer	Russ Chandler Stadium	5-3	T. Hawley (2-1)	J. French (3-4)	J. Smith (5)	1,191	39-23	2-1
63	June 6	#8 Georgia Tech	Russ Chandler Stadium	8-1	A. Morgan (7-4)	B. Cumpton (9-3)	None	2,187	40-23	3-1
64	June 7	#8 Georgia Tech	Russ Chandler Stadium	10-8	N. Kilcrease (8-2)	J. Bradley (9-5)	None	3,113	41-23	4-1

NCAA Tournament: Super Regionals

#	Date	Opponent	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	NCAAT Record
65	June 12	#13 Clemson	Doug Kingsmore Stadium	5-4	J. Nelson (9-3)	C. Harman (7-3)	J. Smith (6)	6,346	42-23	5-1
66	June 13	#13 Clemson	Doug Kingsmore Stadium	5-19				6,024	42-24	5-2
67	June 14	#16 Clemson	Doug Kingsmore Stadium	6-8				5,250	42-25	5-3

NCAA Tournament: College World Series

#	Date	Opponent	Site/Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall Record	NCAAT Record

† Indicates the game does not count toward the 2010 Southeastern Conference Standings.
*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the Baseball America poll the week Alabama faced each opponent.

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Poll	Pre- season	Feb. 22	Mar. 1	Mar. 8	Mar. 15	Mar. 22	Mar. 29	Apr. 5	Apr. 12	Apr. 19	Apr. 26	May 3	May 10	May 17	May 24	May 31	June 8	Final Poll
USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll (Top 25)^[1]	NR	NR	NR	25	21	16	23	25	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR		18
Baseball America (Top 25)^[2]	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	20	25	24	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR		16
Collegiate Baseball (Top 30)^^[3]	NR	NR	NR	30	21	16	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	16	16
NCBWA (Top 30)†^[4]	32	NR	28	27	23	20	29	25	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	29
Rivals.com (Top 25)^[5]	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	22	NR	19	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR		17

NR = Not Ranked
^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but will only rank 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranked 35 teams in their preseason poll, but will only rank 30 teams weekly during the season.

Awards and honors

Jake Smith

2010 NCBWA Preseason All-American, Third Team

2010 Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball newspaper preseason All-America, Third Team

2010 Ping Baseball Preseason All-American, Third Team

Ross Wilson

2010 NCBWA Preseason All-American, Second Team

2010 Ping Baseball Preseason All-American, First Team

2010 Baseball America preseason All-American, First Team

Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2010 MLB Draft

The following members of the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball program were drafted in the 2010 MLB Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	MLB Team
Jimmy Nelson	P	2nd	64th	Milwaukee Brewers
Josh Rutledge	SS	3rd	107th	Colorado Rockies
Ross Wilson	2B	10th	308th	Chicago White Sox
Jake Smith	3B	15th	471st	Philadelphia Phillies
Tyler White	P	20th	613th	Detroit Tigers
Jason Townsend	P	31st	927th	Pittsburg Pirates
Clay Jones	1B	32nd	973rd	Detroit Tigers

References

Alabama Crimson Tide baseball

Playing field	Sewell–Thomas Stadium Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Current coaches	Mitch Gaspard HC Andy Phillips (AC) Dax Norris (AC)

Seasons	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Conference affiliations	Southeastern Conference (SEC)

The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.