Kaylee Tow Quietly Having a Solid Postseason for Alabama Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY -- It wasn’t a good look at all for Kaylee Tow, and she knew it.
The Alabama senior slugger was fooled on a change-up in her second at-bat against UCLA on Friday in the Women’s College World Series and struck out.
“Well, obviously I looked kind of silly on it and so I was thinking that they might try me with it again,” Tow said.
UCLA pitcher Rachael Garcia did throw the change-up in the fifth inning, and Tow hit it more than 220 feet over the centerfield wall for a three-run home run to give the Crimson Tide a 5-0 advantage. Alabama won the game 6-0 to earn a spot in the semfinals.
How to watch Alabama vs. Florida State in WCWS
A perfect birthday performance by Montana Fouts
“My dad was talking to me yesterday and he was, like, ‘You know she's going to give you one over the plate, so if she does, hit it over the centerfield wall,’ and of course I didn't think I was going to hit it over the centerfield wall, but I was just looking for something really sweet and just trying to hit it hard.”
It’s the second homer she’s hit in the WCWS, her first against Florida in 2019.
Tow has quietly put together an impressive season in her senior year. The third-team All-American is hitting .368 with eight homers and 50 RBIs, doing so while hitting behind first-team All-American Bailey Hemphill.
"I just see it as an opportunity,” said Tow, who is right behind Hemphill for the team lead in home runs and RBIs. “I know that I'm going to get a pitch and it's probably going to be in an opportunity where there's an RBI situation, so I'm grateful to be in that role and thankful that (head coach Patrick Murphy) put me in that role, so just use it as an opportunity.”
While she’s had a solid 2021 campaign, Tow has been on fire in the postseason with seven hits and seven RBIs in seven games.
"I don't put too much pressure on myself because I know that I'm going to come through in situations and I'm not going to come through in other situations,” she said. “That's just part of the game.”
The three-run homer against UCLA would have been enough to be the lead story from the 6-0 win on Friday. But Montana Fouts’ perfect game, the fifth in WCWS history, had the whole country buzzing. That’s just fine for Tow, who made big defensive plays to help her friend and teammate get the accomplishment.
“Well, Montana's actually my best friend off the field, so I've just kind of seen this journey for her as she's grown into just an awesome pitcher and an awesome woman, but I think it's the confidence that she brings and the refusal to lose,” Tow said.
Alabama rides that momentum into Sunday’s semifinal game with Florida State. A win over the Seminoles sends the Crimson Tide to its third WCWS title series.
“It's a blessing and we're so grateful,” Tow said. “I couldn't be more excited that the seven seniors are getting to go to another semi-final, and this time we're coming through the winner's bracket, so it's a really good feeling and a good position, but we know that anybody that we're going to play is going to be tough. I'm just excited for these seniors to get to play another game and me to get to be their teammate for another day.”
