Sophomore Kyle Overstreet’s numerous awards, the most recent being his Rawlings Gold Glove at second base, are obvious referendums on his stellar defensive play. After all, as a freshman, he had a hand in 67 of the 80 double plays the Crimson Tide turned out, leading the Southeastern Conference.
However, a few moments in 2013 stand out as more than routine for the Boaz, Ala., native, one of them being the SportsCenter-worthy double play Overstreet propelled against Auburn in the SEC tournament.
“That was a great feeling,” Overstreet said. “I was just trying to help the team out, trying to make a great play.”
The graceful putback, coming in a tied seventh inning, spurned on the Tide to defeat the Tigers in the opening round of the tournament to stay alive. Overstreet recognizes, though, that many times the other half of any double play comes from the glove of shortstop Mikey White.
“Me and Mikey started playing when we were younger,” Overstreet said of the Birmingham, Ala., native. “We like to work on the defensive side, getting the timing down and everything.”
In addition to his Rawlings Gold Glove, Overstreet also received First-Team Freshman All-SEC honors, along with NCAA Tallahassee Regional All-Tournament team.
Though the Tide athlete certainly made his name throwing out would-be base runners, he also made an impression on the other side of the plate. Overstreet finished 2013 with a .271 average, adding on 64 hits and 37 RBIs.
One of those hits was described by Overstreet as “the most nerve-wracking moment I was in [this] season.”
The hit, a walk-off single against then-No. 2 LSU, came in the bottom of the 10th inning on April 21. The critical score not only toppled the formidable conference foe, but it also gave the Crimson Tide a boost heading into the postseason.
“That was definitely one of the most memorable moments of this past year,” Overstreet said. “I’ll always remember that.”
There is no escaping the fact that defense is the bread and butter of Overstreet’s baseball chops. Alabama notched 80 double plays in 2013, just one fewer than the national leader, Towson. That figure is no mistake, Overstreet said.
“We work a lot on defense,” Overstreet said. “We all know double plays can get you out of tight situations.”
Overstreet is spending his summer in the Cape Cod collegiate league, a hot bed for future Major League Baseball players.
