Alabama
Missouri
Softball Rides Out Rain Delay and Beats Missouri, 7-2, to Open SEC Tournament Play
5/11/2023 1:06:00 AM | Softball
The Crimson Tide advances to play tournament host Arkansas on Thursday
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Following a five-hour rain delay, Alabama softball came out swinging in a 7-2 win over Missouri late Wednesday night to open play at the 2023 SEC Softball Tournament. The Crimson Tide will advance to play tournament host and No. 4 seed Arkansas on Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. CT.
A lengthy rain delay pushed the start of the game five hours past its originally scheduled start time, with Alabama (39-17) and Missouri (34-24) finally taking the field amidst a light rain at 9 p.m. CT. The Tide got the scoring started in the bottom of the first as Ashley Prange hit a towering solo home run to center field. Alabama continued to pass the bats down in the bottom of the second, scoring three runs on three hits and an error to push the lead to 4-0.
The Tigers got on the board with an RBI single in the top of the third before the Tide extended the lead back to four runs in the bottom of the fourth, as Bailey Dowling scored from third on a two-out wild pitch. A Kara Daly RBI single in the fifth made it a 5-2 game before Prange blasted her second home run of the day in the home half of the frame, a two-run shot that brought the game to its eventual final tally of 7-2.
Prange led the way offensively with a 3-for-3 day at the plate including two home runs and three RBIs. The three-hit performance was her second in the last four games and the two home runs ties her career high, last doing so against UCLA earlier this season (Feb. 17). Bailey Dowling was 2-for-3 with a career-best two runs scored, marking her 12th multi-hit game of the season. In the circle, Montana Fouts (23-9) threw her 23rd complete game of the season while striking out 10 batters. That gives her 302 strikeouts this season, making her just the third pitcher in program history to have two 300+ strikeout seasons.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"Firstly, I want to say thanks to everybody at Arkansas. I know this was a tough opening day with the weather and I appreciate everyone still being out here. I thought [Ashley] Prange was awesome tonight with two bombs and obviously Montana [Fouts] was as good as she's ever been. She may not say that, but that is a really good hitting Missouri team that was coming off a really good weekend. They came in this tournament with a lot of momentum and we knew that we needed to respect them coming into today."
Highlights
- Alabama is now 45-27 all-time in SEC Tournament play, holding a 1-1 record vs. Missouri
- Overall, the Crimson Tide is 20-12 vs. the Tigers with a 3-2 record at neutral sites
- Alabama is 31-8 this season when scoring first and 19-5 when scoring in first inning
- Montana Fouts now has 302 strikeouts this season, joining Kelsi Dunne and Stephanie VanBrakle as the only Tide pitchers with two 300+ strikeout seasons
- The 10 strikeouts in Wednesday's win gives Fouts 12 games this season with 10+ Ks and 54 for her career
- She also now owns 98 career wins, just two shy of becoming the fourth UA pitcher to reach 100
- Wednesday's game was Ashley Prange's fifth multi-home run game of her career and second this season, doing so earlier this year against UCLA (Feb. 17)
- Prange's three hits ties her career best, doing so three time this season including twice in the last four games
- Bailey Dowling's 2-for-3 day gives her a team-leading 12 multi-hit games this season
Scoring Summary
- B1 | Ashley Prange crushed a solo home run to center field (1-0, 2 Out)
- B2 | Kali Heivilin dropped an RBI single into left field (2-0, 1 Out)
- B2 | Bailey Dowling scored from third on a sac bunt attempt that went between the pitcher's legs (3-0, 1 Out)
- B2 | Jenna Johnson lifted a sac fly RBI to right field (4-0, 1 Out)
- T3 | Alex Honnold got the Tigers on the board with an RBI single up the middle (4-1, 1 Out)
- B4 | Dowling scored from third on a wild pitch (5-1, 2 Out)
- T5 | Kara Daly hit an RBI single to left (5-2, 2 Out)
- B5 | Prange hit her second homer of the day, a two-run shot (7-2, 1 Out)
Up Next: vs. Arkansas (SEC Tournament)
- Thursday, May 11 – 7 p.m. CT (or 35 minutes following game 7) – SEC Network
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.
