Montana Fouts Named Top-25 Finalist for Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year
4/18/2019 12:05:00 PM | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Alabama freshman pitcher Montana Fouts has been selected to the Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year Top-25 watch list, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced Thursday.
The Grayson, Ky., native is 12-1 with a 1.00 ERA in her debut season with the Crimson Tide, allowing just 13 earned runs over 91.0 innings pitched while fanning 118 batters. Her 1.00 ERA leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally, while her 6.94 strikeout-to-walk ratio is ninth among DI pitchers. She earned a trio of ranked victories early this season, defeating then-No. 7 Arizona on the road before beating then-No. 24 Minnesota twice in Tuscaloosa, allowing a combined three runs, two earned, over 19.0 innings pitched in those games. She has earned three SEC Freshman of the Week awards this season, joining Charlotte Morgan (2007) and Kayla Braud (2010) as the only three-time winners in UA history.
Fouts is the fourth Alabama player in the last five years to earn a spot on the top-25 watch list, joining Kaylee Tow (2018), Bailey Hemphill (2017) and Alexis Osorio (2015). She is one of four honorees from the SEC, which leads all conferences.
The list will be narrowed to a top 10 on May 9 and further trimmed to three finalists on May 21. The winner will be announced during the Women's College World Series banquet in Oklahoma City on May 28.
Fouts and the Tide head to Gainesville, Fla., this weekend for a three-game series against sixth-ranked Florida (37-9, 9-6 SEC) beginning with a doubleheader Friday, April 19 at 4:30 p.m. CT.
For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaSB on Twitter, BamaSB on Instagram and Alabama Softball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
