Alabama Softball Opens Women’s College World Series Play Thursday vs. Tennessee

OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 5 seed Alabama makes its 14th appearance at the Women's College World Series this weekend, opening play on Thursday, June 1 at 11 a.m. CT against No. 4 Tennessee at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN. The winner of that game advances to play Saturday, while the loser plays in an elimination game on Friday.

This Week: 2023 Women's College World Series

No. 5 Alabama (45-20) vs. No. 4 Tennessee (49-8)
Thursday, June 1 – 11 a.m. CT *winner advances to play Saturday, loser plays in Friday elimination game*
Oklahoma City, Okla. – USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium
TV: ESPN
Radio: The Crimson Tide Sports Network at 97.5 FM in Tuscaloosa | nick975.com | Varsity App

Scouting Alabama

No. 5 seed Alabama opens play at the 2023 Women's College World Series on Thursday, June 1 against No. 4 Tennessee at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN
This year marks the Crimson Tide's 14th appearance in Oklahoma City, returning after a one-year absence
Alabama punched its ticket with a Super Regional round win over Northwestern last weekend in Tuscaloosa, rallying after a game one loss to take games two and three
Fifth-year seniors Ashley Prange and Ally Shipman are tied for the team lead with 58 hits, with Shipman leading the team in doubles (15) and Prange leading the way in home runs (16)
Freshman Kenleigh Cahalan is a close second with 56 hits, while junior Bailey Dowling trails just behind with 53 along with a team-leading 49 RBIs
The Alabama pitching staff has a 1.99 ERA with 443.2 innings pitched, led by Montana Fouts at 25-10 with a 1.48 ERA and NCAA-leading 319 strikeouts in 223.0 innings pitched
Murphy is in his 25th season as head coach at Alabama with a 1,238-353 (.778) 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

Alabama at the Women's College World Series

This marks Alabama's 14th trip to the Women's College World Series, owning a 22-25 all-time record in Oklahoma City
The Tide has more appearances than any other SEC team, three ahead of second-place Florida (11)
Alabama's first appearance came in 1999, just the program's third season in existence and the first under head coach Patrick Murphy
The Tide would earn two wins for the first time in 2008 and has won at least two games in seven of the nine appearances since
Alabama won the national title in 2012, the first NCAA softball championship for any SEC school
With 14 WCWS appearances in 27 seasons as a D1 softball program, the Tide has qualified more often than it hasn't, a feat only UCLA and Arizona can also claim

Inside the Series: WCWS Field

Overall vs. Oklahoma: 10-8
- In Tuscaloosa: 2-1 | In Norman: 0-1 | At Neutral Sites: 8-6 | at WCWS: 4-5
Current Streak: Oklahoma +1
Last Meeting: June 2, 2019 - Oklahoma City (WCWS) - L, 3-7

Overall vs. Florida State: 6-8
- In Tuscaloosa: 6-3 | In Tallahassee: 0-2 | At Neutral Sites: 0-3 | at WCWS: 0-2
Current Streak: Alabama +1
Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 2023 - Clearwater, Fla. - W, 2-1
Last Meeting at the WCWS: June 7, 2021 - L, 5-8

Overall vs. Tennessee: 40-29
- In Tuscaloosa: 21-8 | In Knoxville: 13-16 | At Neutral Sites: 6-5 | at WCWS: 1-1
Current Streak: Tennessee +2
Last Meeting: May 12, 2023 - Fayetteville, Ark. (SEC Tournament) - L, 6-7
Last Meeting at WCWS: May 31, 2012 - W, 5-3

Overall vs. Oklahoma State: 5-0
- In Tuscaloosa: 0-0 | In Stillwater: 0-0 | At Neutral Sites: 4-1
Current Streak: Oklahoma State +1
Last Meeting: Feb. 15, 2020 - Clearwater, Fla. - L, 1-4

Overall vs. Washington: 6-10
- In Tuscaloosa: 5-3 | In Seattle: 0-7 | At Neutral Sites: 1-0
Current Streak: Alabama +1
Last Meeting: Feb. 13, 2020 - Clearwater, Fla. - W, 8-0 (5)

Overall vs. Stanford: 7-4
- In Tuscaloosa: 5-1 | In Palo Alto: 2-2 | At Neutral Sites: 0-1
Current Streak: Alabama +1
Last Meeting: March 4, 2017 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - W, 4-0

Overall vs. Utah: 3-2
- In Tuscaloosa: 0-0 | In Salt Lake City: 0-0 | At Neutral Sites: 3-2
Current Streak: Alabama +2
Last Meeting: March 17, 2006 - Fullerton, Calif. - W, 3-1

Last Time Out: NCAA Tuscaloosa Super Regional

Alabama defeated Northwestern last weekend in Tuscaloosa, losing game one, 3-1, before evening the series with a 2-1 win on Saturday and clinching a ticket to OKC with a 3-2 win on Sunday
The Crimson Tide has now won 12 of the 17 Super Regional rounds it has played in since the current postseason format was adopted in 2005, including 11 of the 12 in Tuscaloosa
This was the third time Alabama has lost the opening game and rallied to take games two and three, previously doing so in 2011 vs. Stanford and 2015 vs. Oklahoma
Ashley Prange led the offense over the weekend, batting 4-for-8 (.500) over the weekend with two runs scored, two doubles and the go-ahead RBI single in game two
Montana Fouts returned from injury and pitched in all three games, earning her 100th career win in Sunday's series finale

Fouts Earns 100th Career Win

Sunday's game three win over Northwestern marked Montana Fouts' 100th career win, playing in her final game at Rhoads Stadium
She is the fourth pitcher in program history to reach the 100 win total, the first since Jackie Traina

Alabama Pitchers with 100 Career Wins

115 - Shelley Laird (1999-02)
113 - Kelsi Dunne (2008-11)
106 - Jackie Traina (2011-14)
100 - Montana Fouts (2019-23)

Prange Power

Ashley Prange's home run against Tennessee at the SEC Tournament was her team-leading 16th of the season, moving her into Alabama's single-season top 10
The 16 home runs are the most for a Crimson Tide player since Bailey Hemphill broke the single-season record with 26 in 2019

Alabama Single-Season Home Runs Top 10

1st - 26- Bailey Hemphill - 2019
2nd - 25 - Kelly Kretschman - 1998
3rd - 21 - Kaila Hunt - 2012
T4th - 19 - Marisa Runyon - 2015
T4th - 19 - Charlotte Morgan - 2008
6th - 18 - Amanda Locke - 2012
T7th - 17 - Ginger Jones - 2000
T7th - 17 - Charlotte Morgan - 2010
T7th - 17 - Amanda Locke - 2010
T10th - 16 - Ashley Prange - 2023
T10th - 16- Leona Lafaele - 2016

Fouts Breaks into Single-Season Strikeout Top 10...Again

Heading into the Women's College World Series, Montana Fouts owns an NCAA-leading 319 strikeouts this season, which already beats her season total from last year (262) and ranks eighth all-time at Alabama
Fouts is the third pitcher in UA history with multiple 300 strikeout seasons, joining Kelsi Dunne and Stephanie VanBrakle
She is one of four UA pitchers to have multiple seasons within the top 10, with her personal best of 349 from 2021 ranking third

Alabama Single-Season Strikeouts Top 10

1st - 361- Jackie Traina - 2012
2nd - 355 - Kelsi Dunne - 2010
3rd - 349 - Montana Fouts - 2021
4th - 345 - Stephanie VanBrakle - 2006
5th - 341 - Stephanie VanBrakle - 2005
6th - 334 - Alexis Osorio - 2017
7th - 331 - Kelsi Dunne - 2011
8th - 319 - Montana Fouts - 2023
9th - 310 - Shelley Laird -2000
10th - 282 - Shelley Laird - 2002

Fouts Continues to Climb in UA Career Strikeouts

Montana Fouts continues to inch closer to Alabama strikeout record-holder Kelsi Dunne (2008-11), sitting 42 shy in second place with 1,177
In the March 14 win over North Alabama, Montana Fouts became the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career strikeouts

Alabama Career Strikeout Leaders

1,219 - Kelsi Dunne (2008-11)
1,177 - Montana Fouts (2019-pres.)
1,113 - Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06)
1,063 - Alexis Osorio (2015-18)
1,045 - Shelley Laird (1999-2002)

Alabama Perfect Games

Fouts' perfect game against Ole Miss was the fourth of her career and the ninth in program history
She previously contributed to a combined perfect game at Alabama State (Feb. 12, 2021) before throwing solo perfect games against UCLA at the 2021 Women's College World Series (June 5, 2021) and earlier this season against Longwood (March 5, 2023)
It was the fourth Alabama perfect game thrown in conference play, two of which have come against Ole Miss

Alabama Perfect Games

Stephanie VanBrakle at Kentucky - April 1, 2006
Sydney Littlejohn vs. Eastern Kentucky - Feb. 6, 2015
Sydney Littlejohn vs. Ole Miss - March 8, 2015
Alexis Osorio at Coastal Carolina - Feb. 10, 2017
Montana Fouts/Sarah Cornell at Alabama State - Feb. 12, 2021
Montana Fouts vs. UCLA - June 4, 2021 (WCWS)
Lexi Kilfoyl vs. Georgia - April 4, 2022
Montana Fouts vs. Longwood - March 5, 2023
Montana Fouts at Ole Miss - May 5, 2023

Fouts Ties Single-Season Solo No-Hitter Mark

Friday's perfect game against Ole Miss was Fouts' third no-hitter of the season, along with her previous perfect game against Longwood (March 5) and a no-hitter against South Carolina (April 8)
That ties the Alabama single-season record for solo no-hitters in a season, joining Stephanie VanBrakle (2006) and Kelsi Dunne (2009, 2011) as the only Tide pitchers to do so

Multiple Solo No-Hitters in the Same Season

Stephanie VanBrakle - 3 - 2006
Kelsi Dunne - 3 - 2009
Kelsi Dunne - 3 - 2011
Montana Fouts - 3 - 2023

Moving Up the Career Shutout Rankings

Montana Fouts' perfect game against Ole Miss improved her career shutout total to 35, moving her within three of second place Kelsi Dunne and four of Shelly Laird's career record

Alabama Career Shutout Leaders

39 - Shelley Laird (1999-02)
38 - Kelsi Dunne (2008-11)
35 - Montana Fouts (2019-pres.)
28 - Alexis Osorio (2015-18)

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