Friday, February 10
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
3:30 p.m. CT
Alabama
vs
Lehigh
Alabama Softball Opens 2023 Season at Home Hosting Leadoff Classic
2/9/2023 12:51:00 PM | Softball
Game Notes (PDF)Live StatsLive Audio (97.5 FM)Friday Video vs. LehighFriday Video vs. Georgia SouthernSaturday Video vs. Georgia SouthernSaturday Video vs. Lehigh
The Crimson Tide hosts Lehigh and Georgia Southern for four games starting Friday, Feb. 10 at Rhoads Stadium
This Week: Leadoff Classic (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Lehigh – 3:30 p.m. CT
- Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Georgia Southern – 6 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Georgia Southern – 1:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Lehigh – 4 p.m. CT
- Radio: 97.5 FM | nick975.com
Scouting Alabama
- Alabama opens the 2023 season at home, hosting the Leadoff Classic where the Crimson Tide will face Lehigh and Georgia Southern
- This weekend marks the first time Alabama has opened the season at home since 2010
- The Tide enters the season ranked in the top 10 in the preseason national polls, placing as high as No. 6
- Alabama was selected fourth in the SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll with Montana Fouts and Ally Shipman earning Preseason All-SEC honors
- Head Coach Patrick Murphy is in his 25th season as head coach at Alabama with a 1,193-333 (.782) record
- Alabama returns 11 players from last year's team, including All-SEC honorees Montana Fouts, Ashley Prange, Ally Shipman and Bailey Dowling, while also welcoming five freshmen and three transfers
Opening the Season at Home
- This year marks the sixth time Alabama has opened the season at home, previously doing so in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010
- The Crimson Tide is 19-3 when opening the season at home, including sweeps in every season except 2010
- Alabama outscored its opponents 135-99 over those 22 home opening games, including six run-rule wins and nine shutouts
- This year marks the second time Georgia Southern has started its season in Tuscaloosa, previously traveling to Rhoads Stadium in 2005 where the Tide defeated the Eagles 8-4 and 6-0 in two games
Alabama in the Preseason Rankings
- Alabama is ranked in the top 10 in each of the preseason national polls released throughout the month of January
- The Crimson Tide's highest ranking is at No. 6 in the D1Softball poll and is also ranked No. 7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, No. 8 in Softball America and No. 9 in the USA Today/NFCA ranks
Preseason Honors
- Montana Fouts and Faith Hensley were both selected to USA Softball's preseason watch list for its 2023 Player of the Year award
- Fouts has appeared on the preseason list in four straight seasons and was a finalist for the award in 2019 and 2021, while this marks Hensley's first appearance on the list
- Fouts was also named to the Preseason All-SEC team along with fellow fifth-year senior Ally Shipman
- Fouts is a three-time First Team All-SEC honoree and has led the league in strikeouts each of the past two seasons, earning SEC Pitcher of the Year honors in 2021, while Shipman was a second team All-SEC honoree in 2022, leading the Crimson Tide in RBIs in conference play
- Fouts, Shipman, Hensley and Ashley Prange were ranked in the Preseason Top 100 player rankings both by D1 Softball and Softball America, with Fouts earning First Team Preseason All-America honors from D1 Softball
- Additionally, D1 Softball released Preseason Power Rankings by position, with Fouts and Shipman coming in at No. 5 at pitcher and catcher, respectively, and Prange at No. 8 for third basemen
Meet the Crimson Tide Newcomers
- Freshman Kristen White (OF - Phenix City, Ala.) holds Central High School records for batting average (.493) and runs scored (285) and she stole a school-record 252 bases during her prep career, only being caught stealing 11 times
- Freshman Abby Duchscherer (IF - Kindred, N.D.) is a 2022 PGF All-American was was ranked No. 41 in the 2022 Extra Innings Softball Elite 100, while also earning North Dakota Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year honors
- Freshman Larissa Preuitt (OF - Hartselle, Ala.) was the 2022 Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year, a 2022 PGF All-American and National Champion and the fourth-ranked outfielder and 14th overall player in 2022 Extra inning Softball Elite 100 rankings
- Freshman Marlie Giles (C - Clanton, Ala.) was the fourth-ranked catcher and 10th overall player in Extra Innings Fastpitch class rankings, a 2022 PGF All-American and a 2022 PGF 18U Premier National Champion
- Freshman Kenleigh Cahalan (IF - Trussville, Ala.) reclassified as an early enrollee, joining the Tide in January as the top ranked player in the 2023 recruiting class, a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year finalist (2021-22) and two-time PGF All-American and MaxPreps All-American
- Junior UNA transfer Emma Broadfoot (IF - Danville, Ala.) started 96 games over two seasons at North Alabama and was on the 2022 First Team All-NISC and All-Tournament Team
- Senior Michigan transfer Lauren Esman (UTIL - Kalamazoo, Mich.) appeared in 103 games for the Wolverines making 80 starts while also earning Florida Gulf Coast League Pitcher of the Year honors in the summer of 2022
- Graduate Ball State transfer Faith Hensley (OF - Monroe, Ohoi) started 108 games over four years at Ball State and was the MAC Player of the Year in 2022, ending her Cardinals career as the school's career leader in on base percentage, second in batting average and third in slugging percentage
Sweet Home Alabama
- Alabama sports a 684-125 (.845) all-time record at home, including a 648-109 (.856) mark under head coach Patrick Murphy and a 629-105 (.857) 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 19 of its 22 years there
Fouts Career Record Watch
- With 75 career wins, Montana Fouts is sixth all-time at Alabama and is just four shy of tying fifth-place Alexis Osorio (2015-18)
- Fouts also has 90 career starts, putting her 10 shy of becoming the sixth player in program history to make 100 career starts
- Her 858 career strikeouts ranks sixth all-time, with Jaclyn Traina (2011-14) as the next highest at 976
Alabama in SEC Play
- Alabama is 488-187 (.723) all-time in SEC play, including a 453-166 (.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
Up Next: TaxAct Clearwater Invitational (Clearwater, Fla.)
- Thursday, Feb. 16 vs. No. 16/19 Duke - 12 p.m. CT - SEC Network
- Friday, Feb. 17 vs. No. 2/2 UCLA - 3 p.m. CT - ESPN2
- Saturday, Feb. 18 vs. UCF - 1:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Feb. 18 vs. Indiana - 5 p.m. CT
- Sunday, Feb. 19 vs. No. 5/4 Florida State - 4 p.m. CT - ESPN
Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
LHP/UTIL
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
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