Alabama Softball Slips Past Texas, Miami-Ohio at Crimson Classic
Through two games with Texas at the Crimson Classic, the Alabama softball team has had to earn everything it’s gotten.
A day after edging the Longhorns by a run Friday, the Crimson Tide slipped past Texas on Saturday, 3-1. Alabama is 18-0.
Megan Bloodworth was the hero Friday with a home run to break a tie game in the sixth. The big hero Saturday was Montana Fouts, who pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief work. She allowed just three hits with four strikeouts.
She earned the win, again in relief, against Miami-Ohio in the second game Saturday. Over the course of three games in the Crimson Classic, Fouts (9-0) has pitched 14 1/3 innings and has thrown 249 pitches with 20 strikeouts.
"I'll feel it (in the morning) but when the first pitch is thrown I shake that off," Fouts said of the heavy workload.
She is the winning pitcher in all three games this weekend, but started just one.
"Whatever (head coach Patrick Murphy) wants me to do," Fouts said of whether she prefers the starting or reliever role. "I prefer to play."
After being dominant in her last three outings, allowing no runs on seven hits through 14 innings, starting pitcher Jaala Torrence got into trouble against the Longhorns.
She cruised in the first, but struggled with her control in the second. She issued four walks, including one with the bases loaded.
In her previous 26 innings, Torrence issued just six walks. She had five on Saturday in 4 1/3 innings. She hit a batter and allowed her only hit in the fourth before being pulled for Fouts.
After allowing four runs on eight hits in her previous outing against the Longhorns on Friday, Fouts was better in her relief role. She didn’t overpower the Longhorns, but she did keep them off the board.
She got into trouble in the fifth after loading the bases, but got a strikeout to end the inning.
Alabama took the lead in the third inning thanks to some patience at the plate and some heads-up base-running. Ally Shipman, after a 13-pitch at-bat, grounded out to shortstop, but Jenna Johnson scored to tie the game 1-1.
Later, Kaylee Tow walked and got into a rundown between first and second, which allowed Dallis Goodnight to score the go-ahead run. Tow took second on the double-steal after the Texas infielder dropped the ball applying the tag.
Despite working the count against Texas pitcher Hailey Dolcini, which included numerous foul balls and five at-bats that went eight-plus pitches, Alabama had trouble breaking through.
"We went through our entire softball budget in terms of foul balls today," Murphy joked. "We buy like 180 dozen a year, but I don't know how many we lost today. So, the battle of up to bat was awesome. The finish, not so much."
Dolcini was finally chased in the sixth inning after her 150th pitch that resulted in an RBI groundout by Kat Grill. Ashley Prange, who led off the inning with a standup double off the left-field wall, scored to make it 3-1.
Alabama Athletics
Alabama Athletics
Alabama 4, Miami-Ohio 2
It was the Bailey Dowling show in Alabama’s nightcap at the Crimson Classic. The sophomore belted a double and a two-run home run to help lift Alabama over Miami-Ohio. She had two of Alabama’s three hits.
"I got into the box and was just thinking, hit it in the gap," Dowling said of the home run, her second this season. "(Miami pitcher Courtney Vierstra) came at me with a rise ball-screw ball, and I saw it and hit it."
Fouts was pressed into action in another relief role after Alex Salter was pulled in the third inning with Alabama trailing 1-0.
Fouts responded with 3 2/3 innings of work, allowing one run on two hits with seven strikeouts.
Alabama didn’t get its first hit until the fourth inning on a Bailey Dowling double. She scored to tie the game 1-1 after Miami pitcher Courtney Viestra issued three straight walks.
Jenna Johnson made it a 2-1 advantage with a sac fly to deep left field.
Miami tied the score 2-2 with a run in the fifth courtesy of back-to-back singles and a Crimson Tide error.
Dowling put the Crimson Tide ahead for good with her two-run shot in the fifth.
Alabama Athletics
Alabama Athletics
