Montana Fouts grabs third All-American honor

The anchor of Alabama’s pitching staff grabs another All-American honor

The ace of the Alabama pitching staff claims yet another All-American honor.

Prior to the beginning of the Women’s College World Series, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association released their picks for All-American on Wednesday, with Alabama pitcher [autotag]Montana Fouts[/autotag] grabbing second team honors.

For Fouts, it is the third time that she has grabbed an All-American honor. She was previously awarded first team honors in 2021, and was a member of the second team in 2019.

In 190 innings of work in 2022, Fouts posted a 2.10 ERA with 275 strikeouts to just 53 walks. In 39 games, Fouts posted ten or more strikeouts 14 times.

According to the press release from Alabama athletics, She is the 10th player in program history to earn at least three All-America awards for the Crimson Tide. Alabama players have combined to win 61 All-America accolades in the program’s 26-year history.

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Alabama Softball: Who is staying, who is leaving?

So far, ten athletes have announced their plans for the 2023 season. Need a recap? Look no further.

Since the introduction of the transfer portal, it has become a tradition for underclassmen, and even seniors who have one eligible season remaining due to the COVID year, to announce their plans for the next season once their respective season concludes.

That has been the case for Alabama Softball. Since their season came to an earlier than usual end last Sunday in the Tuscaloosa Regional, a total of ten athletes have declared their 2023 season plans, with six electing to join the transfer portal.

Monday, Jenna Lord and Abby Doerr announced that they would be exploring their options in the transfer portal. Tuesday, four more announced their plans to join Lord and Doerr in the portal.

Here’s a look at who is staying, and who plans to leave as of May 25:

Alabama Softball: Two players to enter the transfer portal

Two players who saw action in 40-plus games last season for Alabama have announced that they are leaving the program.

Two Crimson Tide softball players who saw significant playing time during the 2022 season have announced that they are leaving the program.

Extra Innings Softball has reported that Alabama’s [autotag]Abby Doerr[/autotag] and [autotag]Jenna Lord[/autotag] entered the transfer portal just one day after Alabama’s season ended in the Tuscaloosa Regional.

Lord, a native of Trussville appeared in 45 games for Alabama this season, making 30 starts. She hit .289, which was 5th highest on the team. She also recorded two home runs and 19 RBI in 90 at-bats.

Doerr hit .227 for Alabama this season with one home run and 17 RBI. She appeared in 43 games with 35 starts, primarily at catcher.

Lord, who just completed her freshman season at Alabama, will have three years of eligibility remaining while Doerr will have two more years to use.

Lord and Doerr join former Alabama outfielder [autotag]KB Sides [/autotag] as players who announced their departure from the program shortly after the Crimson Tide ended their season over the last two years. Last season, Sides announced that she would be playing her final eligible year elsewhere, where she ended up settling down at Arkansas.

PHOTO GALLERY: Alabama Softball in the Tuscaloosa Regional

Here are the best photos from the Tuscaloosa Regional

A great season for the Alabama Crimson Tide came to a close on Sunday as they were defeated by Stanford, 4-0 in the final game of the Tuscaloosa Regional.

It was the third time that the Crimson Tide and Cardinal met in the regional, with two of those games having historical significance.

In Saturday’s 6-0 Stanford win, it marked the first time since 2007 that Alabama had lost a game in the regional round. Then, Stanford defeated Alabama again in the winner-take-all game seven on Sunday, 6-0. The loss ended Alabama’s season, making it the first time since Super Regionals were introduced in 2005 that Alabama will not be competing in one.

Although the headlines will show Alabama’s losses to Stanford, the Crimson Tide did grab three wins on the weekend, defeating Chattanooga twice, and beating Stanford, 4-0 in game six.

Here are the best photos from the Tuscaloosa Regional:

 

Alabama falls to Stanford, misses Super Regionals for first time ever

An impressive run came to an end on Sunday at Rhoads Stadium.

One of college softball’s most impressive streaks came to an end on Sunday.

For the first time since Super Regionals were introduced to the NCAA Softball Tournament in 2005, the Alabama Crimson Tide had appeared in every single one… until 2022.

The Crimson Tide entered “championship Sunday” needed to defeat Stanford twice in order to win the Tuscaloosa regional and to host Oregon State in the Super Regionals next weekend for a chance to play in the Women’s College World Series.

Game one went Alabama’s way, as they scored all of their runs in the 6th inning to defeat the Cardinal, 4-0. [autotag]Jenna Lord[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaylee Tow [/autotag] each plated a run, with the big blow coming off the bat of [autotag]KJ Haney[/autotag], who recorded two RBI on a double to left field.

The Cardinal bats, led by Aly Kaneshiro, were too much to handle in the late innings, as Stanford defeated Alabama, 6-0 in the winner-take-all game seven.

Kaneshiro plated three runs over the final two innings to lead the way for Stanford in batting. Alabama caught a tough break in the 7th inning, which led to three runs. With the bases loaded, Sydnee Huff singled up the middle to score two runs. However, the relay throw back into the infield went off-target. The throwing error scored an additional run, which pushed Stanford to a 4-0 lead.

After the game, head coach Patrick Murphy tipped his cap to Stanford, citing Alabama’s history with teams from the Pac-12 conference, and says that Stanford played well enough to knock the Tide out of the NCAA Tournament.

When you look back through all the Super Regionals that we’ve been in we’ve had to go through Washington, we’ve gone through Stanford, we’ve gone through Arizona State, we’ve gone through a lot of Pac-12 teams in Cal, Stanford, Washington, you name it. They were the first ones to come in and do it. They earned it and I know they will do well next weekend.

The Crimson Tide finish with record of 44-13, including a 24-6 record at Rhoads Stadium.

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Alabama Softball in the polls ahead of Regional weekend

Did Alabama’s early exit from the SEC Tournament affect their national rankings?

The Alabama Crimson Tide took an early exit in the SEC Softball Tournament last weekend by falling to Missouri, 3-0 last Thursday afternoon.

The loss did not affect Alabama much as far as national seeding goes, as the Crimson Tide earned the no. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament that begins Friday in Tuscaloosa.

Before the tournament begins, here is a look at where Alabama ranks in this week’s national polls

Alabama Softball bows out of SEC Tournament with loss to Missouri

The offense never got going in Thursday’s SEC Tournament quarterfinal loss to Missouri.

Alabama faced Missouri for the 4th straight game on Thursday. This time, they met on the SEC Tournament stage.

What stayed the same, however, was the trend of “the big inning”, and who got lucky enough to catch it. Missouri wore the honor on Thursday, as they defeated Alabama, 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, hosted by the University of Florida.

The game remained scoreless until the 6th inning when Missouri scored all three of their runs on two hits and two Tide errors.

The first three batters of the inning reached for the Tigers. Jenna Laird opened the inning with a leadoff single, Kimberly Wert was intentionally walked, and Brooke Wilmes reached on an error. With the bases loaded, Kendyll Bailey hit a sacrifice fly to center field, deep enough to score Laird to put Missouri on the board, 1-0.

Alabama caught a break on the next at-bat, as a fielder’s choice forced a runner out at the plate and gave them an out in the inning.

Alabama’s luck would be short lived, as Kara Daly would single home a run, extending Missouri’s lead to 2-0. In the next at-bat, the Crimson Tide would commit their second error of the inning, which allowed the third and final run of the game.

Alabama was held to five hits on the afternoon, with [autotag]Ashley Prange[/autotag] leading the way with two. [autotag]Montana Fouts[/autotag] took the tough loss in the circle. In seven innings, Fouts struck out five batters while allowing five hits and one earned run.

Alabama will now await their postseason fate on Selection Sunday. According to the recent field of 64 projection from College Sports Madness, Alabama is projected to be the no. 6 seed, hosting Georgia Tech, Illinois, and UMBC.

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Alabama Softball to face Missouri in Quarterfinals of SEC Tournament

No. 7 seed Missouri defeated Auburn, 1-0 on Wednesday, setting up a rematch from last weekend’s series.

The no.2 seed of the SEC Softball Tournament has found out their opponent.

Alabama will take on Missouri in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Softball Tournament on Thursday, with a first pitch at approximately 1:30 p.m. CDT at Katie Seashole Stadium on the campus of the University of Florida.

The Tigers defeated Auburn in a defensive-heavy game, 1-0 on Wednesday. Pitcher Jordan Weber was dominant in the circle, striking out eight batters while allowing just three hits. The lone run came across the plate in the bottom of the 4th inning on a double by Jenna Laird.

Missouri’s offense scored just one run in their third-straight game. After defeating Alabama 3-2 in 8 innings in last Friday’s series opener, the Tigers dropped two straight 3-1 decisions to the Crimson Tide. In the series, Alabama outscored Missouri, 8-5.

The winner of this quarterfinal game will meet the winner of No. 3 seed Tennessee/No. 11 seed Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament semi-finals on Friday at 2 p.m. CDT.

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Alabama Softball: Tide opens final SEC series of season with Missouri on Friday

Alabama softball nears the end of the regular season!

The No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide will have one more dress rehearsal ahead of next week’s Southeastern Conference tournament by hosting Missouri in game one of a three-game set on Friday night at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

The Crimson Tide enter the weekend refreshed, as this will be their first game since April 27 at Western Kentucky. The extended break came at a good time for Alabama, who have lost three of their last four contests.

Alabama was not able to recover from a hot start by Western Kentucky in their most recent game. The Hilltoppers hit two home runs in the bottom of the inning, forcing starter [autotag]Jaala Torrence [/autotag]to be lifted for [autotag]Montana Fouts[/autotag] in the circle. Fouts would finish the game by allowing just one hit and striking out six batters in 5.1 innings pitched. [autotag]Jenna Lord[/autotag] provided the lone run for Alabama on a groundout in the 7th inning, but it was not enough to come from behind to grab the win on the road.

Missouri is on the outside looking in when it comes to the national rankings, but they have played great softball recently. The Tigers have won seven games in a row, which include two-consecutive sweeps over Kentucky and Texas A&M.

Alabama Softball: Tide remains in top-10 ahead of final weekend series

Alabama Softball remains in familiar territory ahead of the final SEC weekend series of the season.

Alabama Softball has hit a rough patch over the last two weeks, winning just one of their last four games.

However, the Crimson Tide will enter the final weekend of the SEC schedule as the 2nd place team in the league at 14-7 in SEC play, 39-9 overall. It will help that Alabama will be refreshed as they host Missouri for the final SEC series of the season, as they will have had eight full days between games by the time the first pitch is tossed on Friday night at Rhoads Stadium.

As the Crimson Tide’s regular season winds down, they remain in the top-10 across all four national polls. Here’s a look at where ranks ahead of the final weekend of the regular season.