OKLAHOMA CITY — The plan was to give Montana Fouts one final moment.
Trailing by a run with two outs in the top of the seventh inning during Friday night’s Women’s College World Series elimination game against Stanford, Alabama softball coach Patrick Murphy jogged to the circle for a quick conversation with his ace. Fouts, easily the most popular player in program history, was down to her last out in a Crimson Tide uniform. Looking to give the star a proper sendoff, Murphy offered to pull Fouts and allow her to exit the field to an ovation from the crowd.
Not a chance.
Fouts denied the offer almost as quickly as it came out of her coach’s mouth. She wanted to savor every remaining second she had in the circle for Alabama.
“I wouldn't change a thing,” Fouts said of her decision following the game. “I think Murph knew that before he ran out there, that I wasn't coming out of the game. I would never take a pitch off from playing a game with these girls.”
Fouts ended up surrendering a home run before recording the third out. Her Alabama career ended in the following frame as the Crimson Tide’s bats remained silent, closing out a 2-0 defeat to the Cardinal.
Years from now, no one will remember that. Fouts’ legacy, on the other hand, will surely stand the test of time.
The four-time NFCA All-American ends her Alabama career with 100 wins and 1,181 strikeouts over five seasons. That includes four perfect games, one of which came in Oklahoma City during the 2021 WCWS. Fouts is second on Alabama’s all-time list for strikeouts and has the third most wins by any Crimson Tide pitcher. She also ranks top 10 in earned run average (1.66, sixth), opponent’s batting average (.183, tied for third) and complete games (89, fourth).
"I couldn't have asked for a better place to spend my dream,” an emotional Fouts said following Friday’s game. “This has always been my dream. I will have people for the rest of my life. I don't even have the words. I don't know if I ever will. I don't know if I'll ever have the words for what this place, Murph, and the coaches, and these teammates mean to me. I have a home."
Fouts’ legacy will also be remembered by what she meant to the sport off the field. The Grayson, Kentucky native has become an icon for not only softball but women’s sports in general, amassing 164,000 followers on Instagram while serving as a role model to the countless young girls who swarm her for pictures and autographs each game.
“She can talk to an 80-year-old as easily as an eight-year-old,” Murphy said. “Not many kids can do that. Not many teenagers, not many college kids, not many adults can do that. She can. She makes everybody feel special. She takes her time with everybody. She's just an icon in the sport.”
While her time at Alabama is over, Fouts will still have more opportunities to make memories in the circle. The right-hander won gold with Team USA during the 2022 World Games and is expected to represent her country again if softball is included in the 2028 Olympics.
“She will be on the cover of every newspaper, every magazine, you name it, on the way up to the Olympics in '28,” Murphy said. “Guarantee you, because she's not done with the sport by any means. You're going to see her for a long, long time.”
Then again, as Friday night proved, wins and recognition have never truly defined Fouts.
“I've been thinking about it a lot recently. I didn't start playing the game of softball just to win a national championship,” Fouts said. “I started playing because I love it. I love the game. I love the struggle that it brings me sometimes. I love, like Murph has taught me, to be an overcomer. I love that. I love that about our team. I love the memories. I love my teammates. I love that it's brought me a family. [Winning] would have been great, but I've won in life.”
