Alabama Softball Hosts Missouri for Top-25 Series to Conclude Regular Season

Friday, May 6

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6 p.m. CT

Alabama

Missouri

Photo by: Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

5/5/2022 12:37:00 PM | Softball

The Crimson Tide and Tigers will square off beginning Friday at 6 p.m. CT

This Weekend: #6/8 Alabama vs. #24/23 Missouri

Alabama concludes the 2022 regular season this weekend, hosting Missouri for a three-game series starting Friday, May 6
The team will host its annual Power of Pink game on Saturday, May 7 and will host senior day for Kaylee Tow on Sunday, May 8
Head Coach Patrick Murphy will be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Saturday night as part of its 2022 class, the Hall's first ever inductee for the sport of softball
The Crimson Tide is 39-9 overall and 14-7 in conference play, most falling to Western Kentucky on April 27
Alabama has won five of its seven SEC series this season, including two sweeps
Tide pitching has allowed the fewest hits (238), runs (123), earned runs (104), doubles (26) and home runs (22) of any SEC team
Montana Fouts leads the SEC with 124 strikeouts in conference play, which is 50 more than the next leading pitcher
Head Coach Patrick Murphy is in his 24th season as head coach at Alabama with a 1,188-329 (.783) 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 Montana Fouts and Kaylee Tow
The Tide welcomes nine newcomers in 2022, including three transfers and six freshmen

Alabama Softball brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh but the late rally ultimately fell short as Western Kentucky held on for the 3-1 win
The Tide faced an early deficit after a three-run first inning from the Hilltoppers and was hitless until the top of the fourth
Alabama had its chances over the latter half of the game, scratching across one run but left nine on base
It was just Alabama's second non-conference loss this season, previously falling to Florida State on March 16
It was the 34th game this season Alabama out-hit its opponent and just its fourth loss when doing so

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, on Saturday, May 7
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 freshman infielder Megan Bloodworth is one of 25 student-athletes in the running for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, announced April 28
Bloodworth has played in 42 games this season, including 38 starts, and is 30-for-93 (.323) with 29 RBIs, which his second on the team
Fourteen of her 30 hits have gone for extra bases, including seven home runs
She is hitting above .300 in SEC play as well, batting 13-for-41 (.317)
She has five multi-RBI games this season, including a five-RBI day in the season opener against Southern Utah
The list of 25 will be narrowed to a Top 10 on May 12 with the Top 3 coming May 16 and the Freshman of the Year award winner announced on June 1

Alabama is outscoring its opponents 49-11 in the first inning, the largest scoring margin of any inning
The Tide is 30-4 when scoring first this season and 16-2 when scoring in the first inning
Alabama batters are 63-for-202 (.312) in the first inning
Ally Shipman has tallied 13 of her 48 hits and 10 of her 35 runs in the first inning
Ashley Prange has driven in seven of her 23 RBIs and scored 10 of her 37 runs in the opening frame

Alabama is batting 116-for-401 (.289) with two outs this season and is even better in conference play at 58-for-193 (.301)
In SEC play, 41 of the team's 96 RBIs have come with two out
Ally Shipman has seen the most at-bats with two out this season, going 18-for-52 (.346) with 11 RBIs
Bailey Dowling leads the team with 12 two-out RBIs, hitting 16-for-46 (.348) with four doubles, a triple and three home runs

*Games played through May 4*

Team - Overall

Individual - Overall

Team - SEC Only

Individual - SEC Only

Kaylee Tow's double against Florida on April 11 was the 45th of her career, moving her past Dani Woods (2005-08) for sole possession of ninth place on the Alabama career records list and one away from tying eighth-place Christy Kyle (1997-2000)
Tow is fifth all-time with 152 career walks, which puts her nine away from fourth-place Kelly Kretschman (1998-2001)
Montana Fouts' game three shutout over Mississippi State was the 24th of her career, tying her with Chrissy Owens (2005-08) in fifth place and just two shy from Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06)

Alabama is 486-186 (.723) all-time in SEC play, including a 451-165 (.732) mark under Head Coach Patrick Murphy
The Crimson Tide has won six SEC regular season titles (2006, '10, '11, '12, '14 and '19) and six SEC Tournament titles (1998, 2003, '05, '10, '12 and '21)
Alabama has never had a losing record in conference play, winning 20 or more conference games 11 times
The Tide is the only team to win the SEC Tournament on its home field, doing so in 2012 and 2021

Alabama sports a 679-122 (.848) all-time record at home, including a 643-106 (.858) mark under head coach Patrick Murphy and a 624-102 (.860) 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