Alabama Softball Opens 2022 Season with Four Games at Candrea Classic

Friday, February 11

Tucson, Ariz.

2 p.m. CT

Alabama

Southern Utah

Photo by: Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

2/10/2022 9:16:00 AM | Softball

The Crimson Tide opens play Friday at 2 p.m. CT against Southern Utah

This Week: Candrea Classic

No. 2 Alabama opens the 2022 season with four games at the Candrea Classic in Tucson, Ariz., against Southern Utah, Oregon State, No. 9/11 Arizona and New Mexico
The Crimson Tide enter the season ranked as high as No. 2 in the preseason national polls and was picked as the preseason favorite to win the Southeastern Conference in the annual coaches' poll
Montana Fouts, Lexi Kilfoyl and Kaylee Tow were all selected to the USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List while Fouts and Tow were named to the Preseason Softball All-SEC Team
Head Coach Patrick Murphy enters his 24th season as head coach at Alabama with a 1,149-320 (.782) record
Alabama returns 11 players from last year's team that made the Women's College World Series semifinals, including a pair of All-Americans in Fouts and Tow
The Tide welcomes nine newcomers, including three transfers and six freshmen

Alabama finished the 2021 season with a 52-9 overall record and 18-6 mark in Southeastern Conference play
The Crimson Tide was ranked No. 3 in the final national polls after making it to the semifinals of the Women's College World Series, its 13th appearance in Oklahoma City
Alabama hosted and won the 2021 SEC Tournament, marking its sixth tournament title and its second in Tuscaloosa, remaining as the only SEC team to win the league tournament as the host
Montana Fouts was named the NFCA Pitcher of the Year and SEC Pitcher of the Year, leading the country with 349 strikeouts including double-digit Ks in 22 games and 14 strikeouts in a perfect game against UCLA at the WCWS, the first in OKC since 2000
A record eight athletes earned NFCA All-South Region honors, with Fouts, Bailey Hemphill and Kaylee Tow going on to earn All-America honors
Hemphill was named the SEC Player of the Year and became the league's career leader in walks and Alabama's career leader in home runs

This weekend marks Alabama's fourth trip to Hillenbrand Stadium, previously playing in 2002, 2014 and 2019
The Crimson Tide opened the 2002 season with a three-game road series against the defending national champion Wildcats, falling in all three contests
Alabama won its first three games at the 2014 Hillenbrand Invitational before dropping a pair of games against Arizona
The Tide's first road win over the Wildcats came at the 2019 Hillenbrand Invitational, part of a 5-0 weekend during Alabama's record 33-0 start to the season
This weekend also marks the third time that Alabama will play New Mexico in Tucson, previously beating the Lobos at Hillenbrand in 2014 (9-1) and 2019 (1-0)

Alabama is 94-22 all-time on opening weekend, losing just four games on opening weekend since 2011
This year will mark the Tide's fourth trip to the state of Arizona for opening weekend, its most common out-of-state destination to start the season
Alabama previously started the year in the Grand Canyon State in 1998 (Tempe), 1999 (Phoenix) and 2002 (Tucson)

Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the NFCA, USA Softball and D1Softball polls and No. 3 in Softball America rankings
The Tide finished last season ranked No. 3 in every poll after making it to the semifinal round of the Women's College World Series
Alabama's schedule includes 23 games against 10 opponents that appear in the preseason top 25, including out-of-conference matchups against Florida State, Texas, Virginia Tech, Arizona and Louisiana and SEC series against Florida, Missouri, LSU, Georgia and Kentucky

Montana Fouts, Lexi Kilfoyl and Kaylee Tow represent Alabama on USA Softball's preseason watch list for its 2022 Player of the Year award
Fouts has appeared on the preseason list in three straight seasons and was a finalist for the award in 2019 and 2021
Kilfoyl is making her second-straight appearance while Tow is making the second of her career, previously doing so in 2020
The Crimson Tide is one of six schools to have at least three athletes represented, along with Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma State and UCLA
Nine Southeastern Conference schools have at least one player on the list, the most of any conference

For the third-straight season, Alabama softball is the preseason favorite to win the Southeastern Conference, earning seven first-place votes in the 2022 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
The Crimson Tide led the way with 138 points and seven first-place votes, just ahead of second-place Florida with 131 and third-place Arkansas with 124
Alabama has been the preseason SEC favorite in three-straight years after winning the SEC regular-season title in 2019 and the SEC Tournament in 2021

The Southeastern Conference released its Preseason All-SEC Softball Team this week, with Montana Fouts and Kaylee Tow representing Alabama on the list
Fouts is a two-time First Team All-SEC honoree and is the defending SEC Pitcher of the Year, leading the league in strikeouts last season
Tow won First Team All-SEC honors in 2018 and was a Second Team selection in 2021. She finished in the top five in the SEC last season in hits and RBIs

Kaylee Tow is tied for 10th with 41 career doubles, three shy of ninth-place Dani Woods (2005-08)
Tow is also 10th in career walks with 129, just two away from tying Kelley Montalvo (2006-09)
Montana Fouts has 20 career shutouts, which ranks seventh and puts her one shy of tying Jaclyn Traina (2011-14)

Alabama softball head coach Patrick Murphy will be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2022, its first for the sport of softball
Murphy, currently in his 26th year overall at Alabama and 24th as head coach, is one of eight members of the Class of 2022 that also includes former Crimson Tide basketball standout Keith Askins
The class will be inducted Saturday, May 7 in Birmingham, Ala.
Joining Murphy and Askins in the class are Doyle Alexander (baseball), William Andrews (football), Rusty Greer (baseball), Jake Peavy (baseball), Philip Rivers (football) and Justin Tuck (football)

Alabama sports a 659-119 (.847) all-time record at home, including a 623-103 (.858) mark under head coach Patrick Murphy and a 604-99 (.859) record at Rhoads Stadium, the Tide's home field since 2000
Since Rhoads Stadium opened in 2000, Alabama has won at least 25 home games in 18 of its 22 years there