Saturday, March 18
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
4:30 p.m. CT
Alabama
vs
Arkansas
Alabama Softball Opens SEC Play at Home This Weekend vs. Arkansas
3/17/2023 10:31:00 AM | Softball
Game Notes (PDF)Live StatsLive Audio (97.5 FM)Saturday Video (SEC Network)Sunday Video (SEC Network)Monday Video (SEC Network)
All three games will be broadcasted on the SEC Network
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball begins Southeastern Conference play this weekend at home, hosting Arkansas for a three-game series starting Saturday, March 18. All three games will be broadcasted live on the SEC Network.
This Week: #16/13 Alabama vs. #9/12 Arkansas
- Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium
- Video: SEC Network
- Radio: The Crimson Tide Sports Network at 97.5 FM in Tuscaloosa | nick975.com
- Saturday, March 18 – 4:30 p.m. CT
- Sunday, March 19 – 5 p.m. CT
- Monday, March 20 – 6 p.m. CT
Scouting Alabama
- Alabama opens conference play this weekend with a three-game home series against Arkansas
- The Crimson Tide returns to Rhoads Stadium this weekend after a six-game road swing, last playing at home on Tuesday, March 7 against Western Michigan
- Alabama is coming off a 5-2 road win at UNA Tuesday night in Florence, Ala.
- In the win over the Lions, Montana Fouts threw her 1,000th career strikeout, becoming the fifth player in program history to reach the milestone
- Kenleigh Cahalan leads the offense with 29 hits, 25 runs scored and a .377 batting average, while Ashley Prange is close behind with 23 hits, including a team-leading nine home runs and 28 RBIs
- The Alabama pitching staff has a 1.96 ERA with 179.0 innings pitched, led by Montana Fouts at 10-3 with a 1.71 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 81.2 innings pitched
- Murphy is in his 25th season as head coach at Alabama with a 1,214-339 (.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
Inside the Series vs. Arkansas
- Overall vs. Arkansas: 62-12
- In Tuscaloosa: 32-2 | In Fayetteville: 25-9 | At Neutral Sites: 5-1
- Current Streak: Alabama +1
- Last Meeting: April 11, 2021 - Fayetteville, Ark. - W, 2-0
- Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: March 8, 2020 - W, 9-1 (6)
Last Time Out: at UNA
- Alabama overcame an early 1-0 deficit with a five-run fourth inning ultimately proving enough to earn the 5-2 win over North Alabama Tuesday night in Florence, Ala.
- Emma Broadfoot, a UNA transfer to the Tide this season, provided the go-ahead two run double that put Alabama ahead for good
- The Tide is now 7-3 this season when the opponent scores first
- Bailey Dowling's three hits tied her career high, previously doing so on Feb. 21, 2021 vs. LSU
- Both Ally Shipman and Kristen White extended their hitting streaks to six games
- Kenleigh Cahalan has now reached base safely in 11 straight games
- Jaala Torrence got the win in the circle while Montana Fouts earned her third save of the season
Fouts Surpasses the 1000 Strikeout Mark
- With two strikeouts in Tuesday's win over North Alabama, Montana Fouts became the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career strikeouts
- She is now just 43 shy of fourth-place Shelley Laird (1999-2002) and 62 away from third-place Alexis Osorio (2015-18)
Alabama Career Strikeout Leaders
- 1,219 - Kelsi Dunne (2008-11)
- 1,113 - Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06)
- 1,063 - Alexis Osorio (2015-18)
- 1,045 - Shelley Laird (1999-2002)
- 1,001 - Montana Fouts (2019-pres.)
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
Marathon Wins
- The 11-inning win vs. Texas was the ninth win in program history in 11 or more innings, the first since a 12-inning win over Nebraska in game one of the 2014 Super Regional round in Tuscaloosa
- Overall, Alabama is 9-4 in games that go 11+ innings
- The win over the Longhorns was just the second true road win in 11+ innings for the Crimson Tide, with the only other being the longest game in program history - a 19-inning 12-7 win at Arkansas on March 21, 1999
Alabama 11+ Inning Games
- March 21, 1999 at Arkansas - W, 12-7 - 19 Inn.
- April 8, 2011 at LSU - L, 1-2 - 14 Inn.
- April 28, 2019 vs. Kentucky - L, 2-3 - 13 Inn.
- Feb. 11, 2000 vs. Missouri - W, 5-4 - 12 Inn.
- June 4, 2005 vs. DePaul - W, 2-1 - 12 Inn.
- May 22, 2014 vs. Nebraska - W, 6-5 - 12 Inn.
- March 5, 1999 vs. South Carolina - L, 4-5 - 11 Inn.
- March 7, 2000 vs. Western Illinois - W, 2-1 - 11 Inn.
- April 29, 2001 vs. South Carolina - L, 1-2 - 11 Inn.
- April 6, 2002 vs. LSU - W, 1-0 - 11 Inn.
- Feb. 16, 2005 vs. Southern Illinois - W, 3-1 - 11 Inn.
- March 21, 2012 vs. Tennessee - W, 3-2 - 11 Inn.
- March 11, 2023 at Texas - W, 4-3 - 11 Inn.
Fouts Career Record Watch
- With 84 career wins, Montana Fouts is fifth all-time at Alabama, with Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06) as the next milestone in fourth place with 97 wins
- Fouts also has 101 career starts, just seven shy of tying Alexis Osorio (2015-18) for fifth all-time at Alabama
- Fouts has three saves this season, giving her 14 for her career which is two shy of tying Shelley Laird (1999-2002) and Osorio for second all-time at Alabama
Murphy Earns 1200th Win at Alabama
- With a win Feb. 22 against Samford, Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy earned his 1,200th win at the helm of the Crimson Tide
- Including his one year as the interim head coach at Northwest Missouri State, Murphy has 1,228 wins across all levels
- Seventeen other head coaches have surpassed the 1,200 win mark with 11 doing so entirely at the Division I level
- Current and former SEC coaches on the 1,200 win list include Ralph Weekly (Tennessee), Jo Evans (Texas A&M) and Karen Weekly (Tennessee), though Murphy is the only one with over 1,000 wins entirely at a Southeastern Conference program
- Murphy is the ninth coach to earn 1,200 wins at one Division 1 program
1,200 wins at One Division 1 School
- Carol Hutchins - 1,684 - Michigan (1985-2022)
- Mike Candrea - 1,674 - Arizona (1986-2021)
- Patty Gasso - 1,417 - Oklahoma (1995-pres.)
- Diane Ninemire - 1,355 - California (1988-2020)
- Eugene Lenti - 1,327 - DePaul (1980-97, 1990-2018)
- Margie Wright - 1,294 - Fresno State (1987-2012)
- Donna Papa - 1,276 - North Carolina (1986-2020)
- Margo F. Jonker - 1,268 - Central Michigan (1980-2019)
- Patrick Murphy - 1,214 - Alabama (1999-pres.)
Sweet Home Alabama
- Alabama sports a 698-127 (.846) all-time record at home, including a 662-111 (.856) mark under head coach Patrick Murphy and a 643-107 (.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 previous years there
Up Next: UAB/Tennessee
- Wednesday, March 22 vs. UAB - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 6 p.m. CT
- Friday, March 24 at #5/4 Tennessee - Knoxville, Tenn. - 4 p.m. CT
- Saturday, March 25 at #5/4 Tennessee - Knoxville, Tenn. - 4 p.m. CT - SEC Network
- Sunday, March 26 at #5/4 Tennessee - Knoxville, Tenn. - 12:30 p.m. CT
Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballNCAA Super Regional GM 2 Postgame: Coach Murphy
Saturday, May 24
NCAA Super Regional GM 1 Postgame: Coach Murphy & Kali Heivilin
Friday, May 23
NCAA Super Regional Preview: Patrick Murphy, Jocelyn Briski & Audrey Vandagriff
Thursday, May 22
NCAA Super Regional Preview: Patrick Murphy
Wednesday, May 21
