Ninth-Inning Surge Gives Alabama Softball 4-0 Shutout over Missouri to Clinch Weekend Series

Saturday, April 1

Columbia, Mo.

5 p.m. CT

Alabama

26-10, 4-4

Missouri

21-16, 1-10

Alabama

Mizzou

Montana Fouts celebrates an inning-ending strikeout at Missouri (April 1, 2023)

Ninth-Inning Surge Gives Alabama Softball 4-0 Shutout over Missouri to Clinch Weekend Series

4/1/2023 9:05:00 PM | Softball

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The Crimson Tide will look to sweep the series in game three Sunday at 1 p.m. CT

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Alabama and Missouri battled into extra innings in a scoreless pitcher's duel before the Crimson Tide broke through with four runs in the top of the ninth to ultimately earn the 4-0 win and clinch the weekend series.

The series win is the seventh for the Crimson Tide over the Tigers since they joined the SEC in 2013, including series in Columbia in 2014, 2017 and 2023. The series win is also the first for Alabama in conference play this season.

Alabama (26-10, 4-4 SEC) had two on base in both the first and sixth innings but could not score while Missouri (21-16, 1-10 SEC) was held hitless until the third and didn't have a runner in scoring position until the sixth inning, when the Tigers' Jenna Laird had a leadoff single and stole second two batters later and advanced to third on what would have been an error, but the initial call of safe was reviewed and overturned to make it two out with nobody on. A popup to second ended the inning as it remained scoreless heading to the seventh.

Missouri pushed the game-winning run into scoring position in the bottom of the seventh before a huge strikeout from Montana Fouts (13-6) ended the frame and sent the game to extras. Still scoreless in the top of the ninth, Ashley Prange mashed a solo home run to right center to give Alabama the 1-0 lead. The Tide wasn't content with the one-run lead, as some key insurance runs came with two out courtesy a two-run double from Kenleigh Cahalan and an RBI single from Bailey Dowling. Missouri got a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth but couldn't scratch a run across as Alabama held on for the 4-0 shutout win.

Tie. Broken.??@a_prange

??SEC Network | https://t.co/YSRmSIVNtk #Team27 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/Nxykhyvg42
— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) April 2, 2023

The top of the Tide order accounted for the majority of the offensive output, with multi-hit games from Cahalan, Dowling, Prange and Kali Heiviln while Kristen White also went 2-for-2 in the nine-hole after entering as a defensive replacement. Fouts was a bulldog in the circle again, throwing her second-straight complete game shutout over the Tigers, fanning 14 batters.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy

"You've got to give a lot of credit to Montana. She's one of the most resilient players I've seen in a long time. As a pitcher, the whole game revolves around your position and she's still as gritty as ever. She was determined that Mizzou was not going to score first. It took us nine innings to break through, but Prange started it off with a solo shot and Abby Duchscherer gets hit by a pitch as a pinch hitter, Kristen White gets a hit and then Kenleigh and Bailey came through with some clutch insurance runs for us."

Highlights

Alabama improves to 19-11 all-time vs. Missouri, including a 5-3 mark in Columbia
The Crimson Tide has now won each of its seven SEC series vs. Mizzou since the Tigers joined the league in 2013, owning a 14-5 record in those contests
The series wins include road weekends in 2014, 2017 and 2023
Only one of the previous six series wins vs. Missouri was a sweep (2019)
Saturday's game was Alabama's fourth extra-inning contest of the season, now holding a 3-1 record
The Tide is now 11-0 in shutouts this season
The game was Montana Fouts' eighth this season with double-digit strikeouts and the 50th of her career
It is the second time this season Fouts has posted 10+ Ks in consecutive games, last doing so against Southern Miss (March 1) and then her next two starts vs. Longwood (March 4-5)
Fouts now has 88 career wins, nine shy of Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06) in fourth place in the Alabama record books with 97
The start was the 107th of her career, one shy of fifth-place Alexis Osorio (2015-18), her 77th complete game, also one shy of fifth-place Osorio, and her 30th shutout, eight shy of second-place Kelsi Dunne (2008-11)
With 14 strikeouts tonight, Fouts now has 1,056 for her career, moving past Shelley Laird (1999-2002) into fourth place by herself and now seven away from Alexis Osorio in third place with 1,063

Scoring Summary

T9 | Ashley Prange led off the inning with an opposite field solo home run (1-0, 0 Out)
T9 | Kenleigh Cahalan roped a two-run double down the right field line (3-0, 2 Out)
T9 | Bailey Dowling poked an RBI single through the right side (4-0, 2 Out)

Up Next: at Missouri (Columbia, Mo.)

Sunday, April 2 – 1 p.m. CT

For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaSB on Twitter, BamaSB on Instagram and Alabama Softball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.