Tag Archives: Tucker Hawley

Long balls push both Alabama baseball and softball to Tuesday night wins

Posted on April 3, 2013 by | Comments Off
Alabama third baseman Kenny Roberts had one of two three-run home runs in the bottom of the sixth that pushed Alabama's offense to the win. (Photo courtesy of UA Athletics)

Alabama third baseman Kenny Roberts had one of two three-run home runs in the bottom of the sixth that pushed Alabama’s offense to the win. (Photo courtesy of UA Athletics)

The Southeastern Louisiana Lions had put together five strong innings, outhitting the Crimson Tide five to three through five innings.

Then, for the first time since June of 2010, Alabama had multiple home runs in one inning, as third baseman Kenny Roberts and first baseman Austen Smith both turned on two-out three-run homers in the bottom of the sixth, pushing Alabama to a 9-1 win.

“I’ve got no problem with three-run homers,” Alabama baseball coach Mitch Gaspard said. “That was good to see and to especially have one that was a no-doubter.

“I’m happy for Kenny Roberts – not only tonight, but the way he has stayed with it and stuck with a plan and really had a consistent year for us both offensively and defensively and that was a big blow for him tonight to hit the three-run homer.”

Roberts and center fielder Georgie Salem both had multi-hit games, both going 2-4 and combining for four RBI and two runs.

The Tide used four relief pitchers after Tucker Hawley’s five-inning start in which he walked two batters and struck two out while giving up five hits. Mike Oczypok, Justin Kamplain, Mitch Greer and Ray Castillo all pitched one inning in the win.

Relief pitcher steadies softball Tide in mercy-rule win

Alabama pitcher Lauren Sewell left the circle in disappointment, having her start ended by coach Patrick Murphy after 3.1 innings, allowing five hits and striking out seven batters.

What ended her start five outs early with that kind of line? The seven free passes – four via the walk and three via hit batters.

“I think when your starting pitcher hits (a batter), walks, hits, walks and strikes out seven or eight, it just doesn’t make sense to me,” Murphy said. “If she can strike out seven or eight she doesn’t need to hit or walk a couple of them, so we need to work on that.”

It was Leslie Jury that entered and pitched 1.2 no-hit shutout innings and watched as Alabama scored 11 runs on 12 hits to earn the 11-3 win in five innings over Jacksonville State.

The Tide scored in bunches against the Gamecocks, scoring five in the bottom of the second then four more in the bottom of the fourth. It was first baseman Jadyn Spencer’s three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth that put Alabama in mercy-rule range before a two-out two RBI single from Jackie Traina ended the game two innings early.

Alabama center fielder Haylie McCleney went 4-4 from the plate with two RBI and three runs, including the game’s winning run. Senior left fielder Kayla Braud, batting behind McCleney in the No. 2 hole, went 2-2 with an RBI and two runs scored.

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Tucker Hawley completes comeback from Tommy John with solid Wednesday start

Posted on March 14, 2013 by | Comments Off

707 days separated Alabama starting pitcher Tucker Hawley from his last start back on April 6, 2011, when an injury he suffered forced him to get Tommy John surgery and end not only his 2011 season, but also sideline him for the 2012 season.

In his return as a starter, Hawley dealt six innings while giving up just four hits and two runs in Alabama’s 4-2 win over Memphis.

“I thought Tucker Hawley, in his first start off of Tommy John surgery, I thought he was dynamite tonight,” Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said. “Clean six innings, threw the ball well, a lot of strikes.”

Tucker Hawley

Tucker Hawley

Hawley, who got through the first inning in just eight pitches, admitted, “That’s the best my command has been as of late.”

Gaspard added, “I thought it was the best we’ve seen him all season long. He was still throwing 86 (mph), 88 in the fifth and sixth inning. A few weeks ago he would start off good then fall to 83, 84 in the third and fourth inning.”

Hawley’s third and fourth inning was not a concern in his mind regarding his eventual departure from the game. In fact, he was rather numb to the thought of leaving.

“Going into the game today, I had already made up my mind that they were going to have to take the ball from me today,” Hawley said. “We needed a win, bad, and I was going to go out there and do whatever I had to do to get the win.”

Hawley’s performance is a ray of positivity for Gaspard, who has been looking for answers in his weekend starting rotation.

“That’s a good sign because if that guy gets going, he can be a starter and even work his way to being a weekend starter because he’s a strike-machine,” Gaspard said.

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“Spirited” players-only meeting sparks Tide off of five-game losing streak

Posted on March 14, 2013 by | Comments Off

Last season, former Alabama centerfielder Taylor Dugas tried to inject energy into the team by forcing them all to drink Red Bull before the next game.

Since that did not work, the senior leader for the 2013 team, Brett Booth, took his own method and helped call a players-only meeting after the coaches left Alabama’s 6-0 loss to Memphis on Tuesday night.

The Crimson Tide came back Wednesday with a large increase in energy, and an even larger increase in volume from the dugout, in the 4-2 win to split the midweek series 1-1.

“We had a pretty spirited meeting last night,” Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said. “It started with the coaches and the players had a little get-together.

“I think we know, and they relayed, what we saw (Tuesday) night was unacceptable. Youi’re going to win some games, you’re going to lose some games, but it’s unacceptable to not go out there and play with great effort every night. That’s what is expected.”

The players noticed the same issues that the coaching staff noticed.

“The last five games, there has been no energy, everyone has been

Alabama second baseman Kyle Overstreet. (Photo courtesy of UA Athletics)

Alabama second baseman Kyle Overstreet. (Photo courtesy of UA Athletics)

down,” freshman second baseman Kyle Overstreet said. “We wanted to come out, play with some energy and hit them in the mouth, and we did it.”

It all started with Overstreet, who came to the plate in the bottom of the first with the bases loaded and hit a three-RBI double, scoring more runs in one swing of the bat than Memphis scored all night.

Overstreet finished the game 2-for-2 with 3 RBI and one run scored. right fielder Ben Moore also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 from the plate with one run scored.

While the influx in offense was nice to see, Gaspard is simply glad to break the five-game losing streak with the next opponent being the first one of the Southeastern Conference schedule.

“It was good to win,” Gaspard said. “We’ve been scuffling here for about a week and a half and it was just good to win and get that good vibe as you move into the SEC opener.”

Alabama starting pitcher Tucker Hawley had a phenomenal performance in his first start after Tommy John surgery took him out for the entire 2012 season. Click here to read more about Hawley’s comeback.

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Alabama baseball loses 5th straight Capital City Classic to Auburn

Posted on March 6, 2013 by | Comments Off

For the fifth time in as many tries, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost the MAX Capital City Classic to Auburn, losing on Tuesday 6-3. The MAX Capital City Classic is a one-game series Alabama and Auburn play in Montgomery every year before the two teams meet again in conference play (this year, March 28-30 in Auburn).

The Tide was held to three hits, all on Auburn starter Dillon Ortman. Relief pitcher Conner Kendrick entered the game in the fourth inning and pitched six innings of no-hit baseball, walking only one batter and striking out eight.

Alabama starting pitcher Taylor Gilbeau pitched four innings, giving up two hits and one run while walking five batters. Reliever Tucker Hawley entered the game and pitched only one inning, giving up three runs on two hits. The two-run top of the fifth inning for the Tigers built a 4-3 lead that Alabama would never cut.

Center fielder Georgie Salem, first baseman Austen Smith and designated hitter Austin Miller were the three players to tally hits for the Tide. Alabama left seven runners on base and committed three errors.

Alabama now gets ready for another weekend road trip, this time to meet the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals for a three-game series.

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Two key pieces returning for Tide in 2013

Posted on February 13, 2013 by | Comments Off

This is the first of a three-day series of posts welcoming the 2013 Alabama baseball season. The Crimson Tide starts the season on Friday at home at Sewell-Thomas Stadium against VMI, the first of a three-game series. Coverage of the series can be found here on Daily Bama Blog.

Comfort has been the hot-button word for Alabama baseball coach Mitch Gaspard. In 2012, the Crimson Tide did not have much of it, as freshmen and inexperienced sophomores were heavily populating the pitching staff and depth was not as great as the coaching staff would have liked.

Gaspard has that comfort now that pitchers Tucker Hawley and Taylor Wolfe are returning from arm injuries that kept both of them out for the entire season last year.

“This team has more depth and roster of any team we’ve had,” Gaspard said. “There are still a lot of young guys on the roster, but I think there are some talented guys.

“I think right now we’re probably 10 or 12 deep in our pitching staff, which is really comforting from where we were last year.”

The addition of the two pitchers, both redshirt juniors, not only adds two bodies to the rotation, but also two players capable of performing well immediately.

“I’m really encouraged right now,” Gaspard said. “Velocity with Tucker and Taylor aren’t yet where we’d like to be, but they’re not that far off. The biggest issue with those guys, and a lot of young guys, is command. One of the biggest Achilles’ heels last season was the pitch count; we couldn’t get a starter past the fifth inning.”

Hawley, despite a setback in the fall with shoulder tendinitis, is ready for the 2013 season.

“My arm’s been feeling great,” he said. “Throwing program went amazing.”

Gaspard added, “He’s a strike-thrower. He’s pitched in Regionals, Super Regionals and big-time SEC venues. Tucker can help not only with the sophomore group, but this freshman group also.
Tucker’s always been a strike machine.”

Story and video contributed by Brett Hudson

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