2021 Alabama Crimson Tide Softball Season Preview

The No. 8 Crimson Tide has depth, talent and experience heading into 2021, returning all seven of last season's seniors.

It has been over 330 days since the Alabama softball team stepped on the diamond to play against real competition. That all changes this Friday as Alabama kicks off its 25th season at the Texas Classic in Austin.

“I looked at my phone the other day, and it said it had been 338 days since we've played our last game which was against Arkansas last March," said senior outfielder Alexis Mack. "So we're really excited to get to put the uniform on.”

Alabama came into 2020 with high expectations from fans and media alike with a preseason No. 1 ranking, but lost three games in the opening weekend and ended the pandemic-abbreviated season with a 14-8 record.

For 2021, Alabama comes in at No. 8 in the national preseason polls, but was picked by the coaches to finish first in the Southeastern Conference.

Due to the NCAA's ruling granting another year of eligibility to all athletes from the spring 2020 season, this Alabama softball team is deeper than ever with 22 total players on the roster including all seven seniors returning in hopes of making another trip to Oklahoma City. 

Head coach Patrick Murphy thinks this is just the right number for his team. 

"In years past, I would have done anything for 22 on the roster because of injuries and everything that goes on in a long long season, so I think this actually might be the perfect number for us," Murphy said.

With so much depth and experience, the challenge for the coaches will be to find playing time for everyone, especially in the circle with a pitching staff that goes six deep.

Pitchers

The Crimson Tide staff is headlined by junior Montana Fouts. She finished her 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year campaign with a 21-6 record, 1.39 ERA and 193 strikeouts. 

After leading the team in wins, ERA and strikeouts during her first season, and leading it to the semifinals of the Women's College World Series, Fouts struggled at the beginning of the 2020 season. She finished the shortened season with a 3-3 record.

Murphy said the extended off-season of rest was good for her, and he thinks Fouts is ready to go to start the 2021 season. She's even added some pitches to her arsenal. 

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Sophomore Lexi Kilfoyl pitched the most innings for Alabama in 2020 and led the team with six wins. She figures to continue being a big-time contributor to the starting rotation.

The two other returners, fifth-year seniors Sarah Cornell and Krystal Goodman, provide contrasting looks from the hard-throwing Fouts and Kilfoyl. Cornell will be looking to build upon her 2019 season in which she won SEC Pitcher of the Year. Goodman's change in speed will be an asset coming out of the bullpen for the Crimson Tide to keep opposing hitters off balance. 

The biggest question marks on the pitching staff are the two true freshmen Alex Salter and Jaala Torrence. Salter was the 11th ranked player in the class of 2020, and Murphy said Torrence has stood out during recent team scrimmages. 

Each pitcher offers a different look in the circle.

"Salter has a lot more spinny stuff than other people," Murphy said. "Jaala throws hard. Obviously Montana throws hard. Kilfoyl has an awesome drop ball. Krystal Goodman has an awesome changeup. Sarah Cornell has a great screwball, so they all kind of complement each other." 

The strategy for who will start and when all comes down to matchups for the coach.

"We’re going to try to figure out which opponent can't hit what pitch, and then that’s probably how we're going to start people this year, and go matchup to matchup and then see what happens," Murphy said.

Catchers

Sophomore Abby Doerr is the only catcher listed on the roster for the Crimson Tide.

Last season, due to some paperwork issues with the NCAA, Doerr was not eligible to compete or practice with the team until the second weekend of the season. She hit a home run in her first career game against Liberty.

Murphy said Doerr has tremendously grown as a player during the long offseason, which gave her more time to get acclimated to the program. 

Senior Bailey Hemphill and freshman KJ Haney can both fill in behind the plate, but look for Doerr to get the majority of work and for Hemphill to spend most of her time at first base.

Infield

Hemphill and Maddie Morgan will lock down the corner spots at first and third base, respectively. Hemphill is one of the most decorated power hitters in Alabama history with 50 career home runs, and Morgan is coming off a hot 2020 offensive campaign, batting .350 with 20 RBIs.

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Senior Claire Jenkins has returned from an ACL injury that sidelined her for the entire 2020 season. She will most likely be stepping back into the shortstop position where she started 69 games in 2019 and hit 13 home runs. 

The most notable departure from the 2020 Crimson Tide is former second baseman Skylar Wallace, who transferred to SEC rival Florida. However, Alabama added the No. 2 rated recruit in the nation in Bailey Dowling, who will likely step into Wallace's role both at second base and in the lineup. 

Dowling concluded her high school career as the home run record holder for the state of Illinois. Murphy called her a quick learner at practice, with a lot of pop in her bat.

"I think you'll see a lot of power from her," Murphy said.

Taylor Clark, Savannah Woodard and Kyra Lockhart will also contribute in the infield. 

"We did some infield drills last week, and we literally had two at third, two at short, two at second, two at first, two catching, and it's been a long long time since we've had that depth," Murphy said. 

Outfield

One word to describe this group: speed. Mack, Elissa Brown and KB Sides have combined to swipe nearly 200 career stolen bases. 

The position group also tops the team in experience among the starters. This will be Mack's sixth year of college softball, Brown's fifth season, and Sides' fourth. 

Senior Kaylee Tow also has a lot of experience in the outfield, but has mainly seen time as the designated hitter over the last two seasons. 

"Whoa, this outfield is incredible," Mack said. "I mean you throw Jenna Johnson, Kat Grill in there, Kayla Davis between all of us Kaylee Tow, whoa. There’s just so much experience.”

Alabama Athletics

Even with all the veterans, Mack said the underclassmen like Johnson teach her stuff at practice every day. 

Look for Johnson to get some playing time as Murphy said she has had the "clutch gene" at team scrimmages. 

Opening Weekend

 There will be no easing into the season for Alabama as it opens the season with three games against top-six teams during the first weekend. The field at the Texas Classic includes the host No. 6 Longhorns, No. 3 Arizona, and Colorado State. 

Mack thinks her team will be prepared for the high level of competition.

"It's such a blessing to have six elite pitchers on the staff, so going into a weekend with high competition I think that we are not going to be overwhelmed maybe like a team normally would be going into the first weekend," Mack said.

Alabama opens play on Friday at 10:30 a.m. CT against Colorado State and will subsequently face the Longhorns at 3:30 p.m. The Crimson Tide will have a rematch with Texas on Saturday night at 6:00 before taking on Arizona at 8:30. 

The Tide will wrap up the weekend with a rematch against Colorado State at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon. 

All games during the Texas Classic will be shown on the Longhorn Network.