Fifth-Ranked Alabama Softball Hosts Easton Bama Bash at Rhoads Stadium

kyle h · Feb 18, 2021

Fifth-Ranked Alabama Softball Hosts Easton Bama Bash at Rhoads Stadium
The Crimson Tide will host Liberty and LSU

GAME NOTES (PDF) | Live Stats | live audio (93.3 fm)

this week: easton bama bash
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium

Friday, Feb. 19 vs. Liberty – 3 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 20 vs. Liberty – 1:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 20 vs. #8/9 LSU – 4 p.m. CT
Sunday, Feb. 21 vs. #8/9 LSU – 1 p.m. CT

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Fifth-ranked Alabama heads into week two with a 4-0 record, earning wins last weekend over Alabama State, Notre Dame and two against Louisville
All four wins were shutouts, marking the second-longest shutout streak to start a season in program history (24.0 IP)
Montana Fouts was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week after throwing 11.0 shutout innings over the weekend with 20 strikeouts, including a combined perfect game with Sarah Cornell against Alabama State
Head Coach Patrick Murphy earned his 1,100th win at Alabama in the game one victory against Louisville on Sunday
Fourteen position players and four pitchers saw playing time on opening weekend, including the first career appearances for freshmen Bailey Dowling and Jaala Torrence
Alabama returns 17 players from last season, including all seven 2020 seniors, while adding five freshmen

INSIDE THE SERIES

· Overall vs. Liberty: 3-0

o In Tuscaloosa: 1-0 | In Lynchburg: 0-0 | At Neutral Sites: 2-0

· Current Streak: Alabama +3

· Last Meeting: Feb. 13, 2020 - Clearwater, Fla. - W, 7-1

· Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: March 9, 2010 - W, 10-7

· Overall vs. LSU: 38-43

o In Tuscaloosa: 19-13 | In Baton Rouge: 11-23 | At Neutral Sites: 8-7

· Current Streak: Alabama +4

· Last Meeting: May 5, 2019 - Baton Rouge, La. - W, 5-1

Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: April 9, 2017 - W, 4-2

LAST TIME OUT: OPENING WEEKEND

Alabama's scheduled season opener in Austin, Texas was canceled due to weather, forcing the Crimson Tide to reschedule a pair of games in Montgomery, Ala., against Alabama State and Notre Dame and a home doubleheader against Louisville
The Tide went 4-0 with four shutouts in those contests
Alabama beat Alabama State and Notre Dame 10-0 in five innings on back-to-back nights in Montgomery, Ala., including a perfect game against the Lady Hornets
The Tide returned home on Sunday for a doubleheader against Louisville, defeating the Cardinals 5-0 and 4-0
Elissa Brown and Alexis Mack led the offense with six hits each, combining to score 13 runs and going 19-for-20 in stolen bases
Claire Jenkins led the team with six RBIs with Bailey Hemphill close behind at five
Montana Fouts and Lexi Kilfoyl each pitched 11.0 shutout innings over the weekend, combining for 36 strikeouts and just six hits and two walks allowed

PERFECT START

Alabama made a statement in Friday's season opener at Alabama State, as Montana Fouts and Sarah Cornell combined to pitch the fifth perfect game in program history
The duo went 15-up and 15-down in the five-inning win, striking out 11 of the 15 batters faced
It was the first perfect game for either pitcher, making them the fifth and sixth pitchers in UA history to be involved in a perfect game
The 10 runs scored is tied for the most in a perfect game, matching Sydney Littlejohn's second effort on March 8, 2015

Alabama Perfect Games

Stephanie VanBrakle at Kentucky - 7-0 - April 1, 2006
Sydney Littlejohn vs. Eastern Kentucky - 8-0 - Feb. 6, 2015
Sydney Littlejohn vs. Ole Miss - 10-0 - March 8, 2015
Alexis Osorio at Coastal Carolina - 6-0 - Feb. 10, 2017
Montana Fouts/Sarah Cornell at Alabama State - 10-0 - Feb. 12, 2021

SHUTOUT STREAK

Alabama has not allowed a run over the 24.0 innings to start this season, the second-longest such streak in program history
The Tide's longest streak came in 2011, shutting out its first four opponents before allowing its first run in the sixth inning of its fifth game against Troy

Most Alabama Shutout Innings to Start a Season

29.2 (2011)
24.0 (2021)
23.0 (2018)
18.1 (2005)
13.1 (2017)

MONTANA FOUTS NAMED SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK

After contributing to a perfect game as part of 12.0 shutout innings in the circle last weekend, Alabama softball's Montana Fouts was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week
Fouts opened the 2021 season going 12-up, 12-down over 4.0 innings against Alabama State on Friday. She paired with Sarah Cornell in the fifth inning to complete the fifth perfect game in program history
Fouts followed that performance with a complete-game shutout over Louisville on Sunday, allowing just one hit and one walk across seven innings of work with 11 strikeouts, one shy of her career high
In total, she fanned 20 batters across 11.0 innings of work on opening weekend
The weekly conference award is the sixth of Fouts' career, previously winning Pitcher of the Week once and Freshman of the Week four times in 2019
Alabama has now claimed 42 Pitcher of the Week honors in program history

ALABAMA MOVES UP IN NATIONAL RANKINGS

Alabama moved up in all four national rankings this week, coming in at No. 5 in the NFCA and D1 Softball polls and No. 6 in the USA Softball and Softball America rankings
The Tide started the season ranked No. 8 in all but Softball America, where it was ranked No. 9
This marks the team's highest ranking since being at No. 1 or 2 in every preseason poll last season

EASTON BAMA BASH HISTORY

Alabama holds an 89-11 overall mark at the Easton Bama Bash, hosting the tournament every year but once since 1998
This will be the first appearance for Liberty or LSU in the tournament
Including this weekend's opponents, the Tide has welcomed 54 different teams for the Easton Bama Bash

HEMPHILL CLOSING IN ON UA CAREER HOME RUN AND WALKS RECORDS, 200 RBIS

Senior Bailey Hemphill's 50 career home runs ranks fifth all-time and sits 10 behind Kelly Kretschman's (1998-2001) career record of 60
She is the fifth player in program history to reach the 50 home run mark, the first since Kaila Hunt (2011-14)
Hemphill hit nine home runs her freshman season, improved to 13 as a sophomore and tied the UA single-season record in 2019 with 26
Her power potential also leads to a lot of teams pitching carefully to the slugger, as she has drawn 181 career walks, which is 18 away from Haylie McCleney's (2013-16) record total of 199
Hemphill also owns 188 career RBIs, putting her within striking distance of becoming the third Alabama player with 200 RBIs
Charlotte Morgan (2007-10) owns the UA record with 264 career RBIs and Kaila Hunt (2011-14) is the only other player to surpass 200, finishing with 215

ELISSA RUNNING UP STOLEN BASE RANKINGS

With 119 career stolen bases, Elissa Brown passed Haylie McCleney (2013-16) to move into the UA top five
Above her, Kelly Kretschman and Jennifer Fenton are tied at third with 133, Kayla Braud sits in second with 182 and Brittany Rogers holds the record with 198
Brown is also fourth in career stolen base percentage at .902

HOME SWEET HOME

Alabama sports a 622-115 (.844) all-time record at home, including a 586-99 (.855) mark under head coach Patrick Murphy and a 567-95 (.856) 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 17 of its 20 years there

UP NEXT - ALABAMA VS. UAB (TUSCALOOSA, ALA.)

Wednesday, Feb. 24 - 6 p.m. CT

kyle h · Feb 18, 2021