The Extra Point: Getting Ready for Alabama Softball

Alabama softball will kick off their season this Friday when they play Southern Utah in the Candrea Classic.

Author:
Clay Miller
Publish date:
Feb 8, 2022 5:00 PM EST

The beginning of the college softball and baseball seasons are rapidly approaching and excitement is in the air.

After an excellent season that included a 52-9 record and a trip to the semifinals of the Women's College World Series, the Alabama softball team is gearing up to begin their season this weekend in the Candrea Classic.

Ranked as high as the No. 2 team in the country in the preseason, head coach Patrick Murphy leads the Crimson Tide into the 2022 campaign with high hopes of returning to Oklahoma City and making a run at a national championship.

The Crimson Tide have talent up and down the roster and seem to have a good mix of experienced upperclassmen and talented newcomers poised to make an impact this season.

Alabama will be led by senior pitcher Montana Fouts and first baseman Kaylee Tow who is now a graduate student. Fouts and Tow have had outstanding careers for the Crimson Tide and both were named to the preseason All-SEC Softball Team.

Fouts, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year, is the ace of a deep Alabama pitching staff. Last season, she finished with a 27-4 record and 1.61 earned run average while compiling a conference leading 349 strikeouts. She threw a perfect game against UCLA in the WCWS, the first since 2000.

Tow was a first team SEC player as a freshman in 2018 and has been a key piece for the Crimson Tide ever since. She had a .362 batting average last season to go along with eight home runs and 51 RBIs. Tow will look to be one Alabama's top hitters and brings experience at the plate and in the field as a first baseman.

While Fouts and Tow are the faces of the Crimson Tide team, there are several returning players and newcomers that are worth watching out for this year.

Junior pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl had a fantastic 2021 season with a 13-4 record and 1.62 ERA and will look to form a dominant duo with Montana Fouts. Sophomore Jaala Torrence will also look to be a key part of the rotation.

As for the position players, sophomore shortstop Bailey Dowling is returning from a torn ACL and will provide excellent infield defense and power at the plate. Before her season-ending injury, Dowling was leading the Crimson Tide in home runs and RBIs.

Two newcomers to keep an eye on are transfers Ally Shipman and Ashley Prange. Shipman is a catcher coming over from Tennessee who has a strong arm and power in her bat. She will be the Crimson Tide's backstop replacing long-time catcher Bailey Hemphill. Prange played at Ohio State as a third baseman before coming to Alabama and had a career .303 average and hit 17 home runs for the Buckeyes.

With hopes for another successful season, Alabama softball will play their first game on Friday against Southern Utah at 2 p.m CT in the Candrea Classic.

Check out the video at the top of the page where BamaCentral's Clay Miller and Katie Windham preview the upcoming season for the Alabama softball team and discuss some of the players to watch out for.