Alabama Softball: Crimson Tide and the Vols in WCWS

Alabama Softball returns to Oklahoma City to face a familiar foe in the WCWS. For the Alabama Crimson Tide program and Patrick Murphy, it is the 14th WCWS trip in Murphy’s 25 seasons as the Crimson Tide head coach.

It is also a return by an improbable team that did not advance to the WCWS last season. Three different times during the 2023 season, Alabama Softball lost three out of four games played. In May, the Crimson Tide regained form that indicated the possibility of a strong post-season run. Then Montana Fouts injured a knee.

A tightly-knit team kept fighting without its pitching star. Stepping in as the Crimson Tide’s lead pitcher, Jaala Torrence has been outstanding. Speaking about Torrence after the Super Regional win over Northwestern, Patrick Murphy said,

"… I’m so proud of her. She could’ve folded her tent way back in March, and she didn’t. She kept working, she didn’t pout, she wasn’t a Debbie downer. She kept working with (assistant coach) Lance (McMahon) on little tiny things, and now you’re seeing the results of that."

Alabama Softball Pitching Aces

Alabama Softball would not be going to the WCWS without Torrence or without Montana Fouts. After a less-than-stellar start for Fouts in the opening game of the Super Regional, Fouts was outstanding. It was fitting that with Alabama holding onto a 3-2 lead against Northwestern on Sunday, the Tide’s last out was a strikeout thrown by Fouts. It gave Fouts her 100th Crimson Tide win.

Speaking after the game, Fouts said,

"We’ve done everything in that roller coaster to stay grateful for what we have here and the people we have. Our whole season has been about trust and keeping faith and I’m really thankful that God put us in the situation with each other to be here and give everything I have. It’s been awesome and we’ve went through a lot of adversity but I think that’s what makes us special and that’s what makes us great."

The roller coaster could get rocky again. On Thursday in Oklahoma City, Alabama will play Tennessee. The Crimson Tide and the Vols have met four times this season, with Tennessee winning three of the games. The most recent Tide loss to Tennessee was a 7-6 heartbreaker in the SEC Tournament.

In the SEC Tournament game, eight runs were scored in the first inning. The first four came from the Crimson Tide. Tennessee equalized in the bottom half of the inning. Alabama fought hard but with the injured Montana Fouts unavailable, the Vols prevailed.

The two teams will meet at 11:00 AM CST on Thursday in Oklahoma City. The game can be seen on ESPN.