Friday, March 10
Austin, Texas
4 p.m. CT
Alabama
at
Texas
Pair of Top-10 Matchups Await Alabama Softball in Austin at Bevo Classic
3/9/2023 9:30:00 AM | Softball
Game Notes (PDF)Live StatsLive Audio (97.5 FM)Friday Video vs. Texas (LHN)Saturday Video vs. Texas State (LHN)Saturday Video vs. Texas (LHN)Sunday Video vs. Wisconsin (LHN)
The Crimson Tide will face tournament host Texas twice along with Texas State and Wisconsin
AUSTIN, Texas – Alabama softball heads to Austin, Texas this weekend for the Bevo Classic, playing four games including a pair of top-ten matchups against the tournament host Longhorns.
This Week: Bevo Classic
- Video: Longhorn Network
- Radio: The Crimson Tide Sports Network at 97.5 FM in Tuscaloosa | nick975.com
- Friday, March 10 at #9/10 Texas – 4 p.m. CT
- Saturday, March 11 vs. Texas State – 12:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, March 11 at #9/10 Texas – 6:30 p.m. CT
- Sunday, March 12 vs. Wisconsin – 9:30 a.m. CT
Scouting Alabama
- Alabama will play four games this weekend in Austin, Texas at the Bevo Classic, including two against tournament host and ninth-ranked Texas along with games against Texas State and Wisconsin
- This weekend continues a six-game road swing for the Crimson Tide before returning home next weekend to host Arkansas
- Alabama is coming off a pair of midweek wins over Western Michigan and UAB
- Montana Fouts was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week, NFCA Pitcher of the Week and D1 Softball Pitcher of the Week after throwing 19.0 shutout innings last week, including a perfect game on March 5 vs. Longwood
- Kenleigh Cahalan leads the offense with 24 hits and a .400 batting average, while Ashley Prange is close behind with 23 hits, including a team-leading eight home runs and 25 RBIs
- Murphy is in his 25th season as head coach at Alabama with a 1,212-336 (.783) 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
- Overall vs. Texas: 7-3
- In Tuscaloosa: 6-1 | In Austin: 1-1 | At Neutral Sites: 0-1
- Current Streak: Alabama +3
- Last Meeting: March 5, 2022 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - W, 3-1
- Last Meeting in Austin: Feb. 20, 1999 - L, 0-2
- Overall vs. Texas State: 2-0
- In Tuscaloosa: 0-0 | In San Marcos: 2-0 | At Neutral Sites: 0-0
- Current Streak: Alabama +2
- Last Meeting: Feb. 10, 2007 - San Marcos, Texas - W, 3-0
- Overall vs. Wisconsin: 4-1
- In Tuscaloosa: 3-0 | In Madison: 0-0 | At Neutral Sites: 1-1
- Current Streak: Alabama +3
- Last Meeting: May 19, 2018 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - W, 9-1 (5) *NCAA Regional*
Last Time Out: Western Michigan/UAB
- Alabama is coming off back-to-back midweek games, earning a 3-1 win over Western Michigan Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa before making the quick trip to Birmingham on Wednesday, defeating UAB 2-1
- The pitching continued to be strong, with Jaala Torrence allowing just one run on one hit over 5.2 innings vs. the Broncos while Esman allowed just one unearned run across 5.0 innings of work over the Blazers
- Montana Fouts made relief appearances in both games, earning two saves with seven strikeouts over 3.1 shutout innings
- Ashley Prange had an RBI in each game, giving her at least one in eight of her last nine games
- Kenleigh Cahalan extended her current hitting streak to six games while Prange moved hers to five, one shy of her season-best
Fouts Earns National and Conference Pitcher of the Week honors
- A stellar week in the circle earned Montana Fouts a slew of recognition, being named SEC Pitcher of the Week, NFCA Pitcher of the Week and D1 Softball Pitcher of the Week
- Fouts threw 19 shutout innings this week across three starts last week, allowing just four hits and four walks while striking out 36
- After six shutout innings on March 1 vs. Southern Miss and a complete-game shutout vs. Longwood on March 4, she saved her best performance for last with a six-inning perfect game in the rematch against the Lancers on March 5
- The perfect game is the eighth in program history and the third for Fouts, previously contributing to a combined perfect game at Alabama State (Feb. 12, 2021) and throwing a solo perfect game against UCLA at the Women's College World Series (June 4, 2021)
- The weekly SEC award is Fouts' first this season and the 14th weekly award of her career, including four Freshman of the Week honors in 2019 and nine previous Pitcher of the Week awards
- The weekly recognition by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association is the first of Fouts' career, who was the 2021 NFCA Pitcher of the Year
- It is the ninth NFCA weekly award in program history, with Kaylee Tow as the most recent honoree on Feb. 23, 2021
- Fouts is the first Crimson Tide pitcher to be recognized since Alexis Osorio on March 13, 2018.
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 99 career starts, putting her one shy of becoming the sixth player in program history to make 100 career starts
- Her 972 career strikeouts rank sixth all-time, with Jaclyn Traina (2011-14) as the next highest at 976 in fifth place
- If Fouts breaks 1,000 career strikeouts, she would become the fifth player in program history to do so and the first since Osorio
- Fouts has two saves this season, giving her 13 for her career which is three shy of tying Shelley Laird (1999-2002) and Alexis Osorio (2015-18) 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 - 1,395 - 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 - 1,212 - 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: at UNAÂ (Florence, Ala. - Florence SportsPlex)
- Tuesday, March 14 - 6 p.m. CT
Players Mentioned
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IF
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