TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The status of Alabama softball ace Montana Fouts remains unclear heading into this weekend’s Tuscaloosa Regional. Thursday, Crimson Tide head coach Patrick Murphy provided another update on his star pitcher, stating she is still “day-to-day” after hyperextending her left leg during last week’s SEC Tournament game against Arkansas.
Murphy said Fouts was evaluated by team physician Dr. Lyle Cain on Monday while also stating she was working with a “very highly-acclaimed” personal trainer in Birmingham.
“It’s a lot better than what I thought,” Murphy said. “It’s still day-to-day.”
Fouts, a three-time NFCA All-American, leads the nation with 311 strikeouts and has a 23-9 record with a 1.44 earned run average this season. The graduate is highly-regarded as one of the best players in college softball and has been the leading force in Alabama earning the No. 5 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
“She’s a thoroughbred,” Murphy said. “I’ve said it before, she’s our version of Tua [Tagovailoa]. I don’t know how else to describe it. She’s just one of those once-in-a-lifetime kids.
"This sport is called fast-pitch for a reason. It’s not called fast-hit or fast-defense or fast-run. It’s fast-pitch. And when you have a circle drawn around your position, you’re pretty damn important.”
This isn't the first time Fouts has faced an injury in the NCAA Tournament. During her freshman season in 2019, she dealt with a ribcage injury that prevented her from pitching back-to-back games on the same day against Oklahoma. Fouts shut out the Sooners over eight innings to lead Alabama to a 1-0 victory, but the Crimson Tide bounced out of the tournament later in the day after it suffered a 7-3 defeat to Oklahoma with her unavailable.
Murphy referenced that situation Thursday, stating Fouts campaigned to pitch at the time but that he held her out to safeguard her health. He said he will only take the same approach this year, prioritizing the pitcher's health over anything else.
Aside from Fouts, Alabama has redshirt sophomore Alex Salter, junior Jaala Torrence and senior Lauren Esman as options in the circle. Salter, who replaced Fouts following her injury against Arkansas, is 7-4 with a 2.51 ERA and 32 strikeouts across 69 2/3 innings. Torrence, who threw a no-hitter against Robert Morris in March, is 6-2 with a 2.71 ERA and 46 strikeouts over 62 innings. Esman is 4-3 with a 2.82 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 49 2/3 innings.
When asked Thursday if he has a plan for whether or not Fouts will be available, Murphy said he wasn’t expecting to use her for Friday’s matchup against Long Island regardless of how her leg progresses. From there, the head coach said he will sort out his rotation based on both Fouts’ ability as well as situational matchups with the team’s opponents.
“With video and everyone's game online for 60 games, we have a lot of information,” Murphy said. “We'll make the decision of which pitcher works best with what opponent. Softball is also like six degrees of separation. Somebody knows somebody who knows somebody."
Alabama is the top seed in this weekend’s Tuscaloosa Regional and will be joined by No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee State, No. 3 seed Central Arkansas, No.4 seed Long Island in a double-elimination format. The Crimson Tide’s opening game against Long Island is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN+.
