Alabama Softball Earns No. 5 Seed for NCAA Tournament

Crimson Tide will host Middle Tennessee, LIU and Central Arkansas; status of Montana Fouts unknown.

One question got answered Sunday on the Alabama softball team’s postseason.

The Crimson Tide is in as the No. 5 overall seed and hosts a regional for the 24th time in school history.

The bigger question gets answered Monday when the team finds out the status of ace pitcher Montana Fouts, who injured her left knee in the seventh inning of Thursday’s SEC Tournament game against Arkansas.

Fouts was scheduled to meet with the team’s orthopedist for evaluation. Fouts (23-9) leads the nation with 311 strikeouts and sports a 1.44 earned run average.

"We are going to go see Dr. (Lyle) Cain (Monday) morning in Birmingham," Murphy said. "We will know something more tomorrow. We will be saying prayers for her tonight."

Middle Tennessee, LIU and Central Arkansas make out the field for the Tuscaloosa regional, which starts May 19. Alabama opens with LIU. The regional winner moves on the super regional.

The news of getting a No. 5 overall seed was a bit shocking, even for Crimson Tide head coach Patrick Murphy, who celebrated the news at Sunday's watch party at the Alabama field house with a toe touch, much to the delight of the players. 

"We had the second toughest schedule in the country," Murphy said. "That was rewarded heavily. It doesn't happen by accident that you are the No. 5 seed. You have to do something to get there. They put in the work, they beat the teams they needed to beat, and now we get to play again."

The regional marks the Crimson Tide’s 24th straight and the 19th time Alabama has hosted. The Crimson Tide’s got a 65-11 mark in regional play and has won 16 regionals when hosting since 2005. Alabama was bounced from last season’s tournament in Tuscaloosa against Stanford in the regional final.

"I think we deserve to be where we are and we are excited to get started," said Alabama senior Ashley Prange. "We have faced a lot of adversity through the season and had to bounce back, so I think we are ready."

Alabama (40-18) has won six of its last eight, including two games in the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide dropped a close 7-6 decision to Tennessee in the tourney semifinals. 

The loss of Fouts drastically changes the dynamic of Alabama’s regional outlook. It’s like the football team losing Bryce Young for the playoffs.

The supporting cast of Alex Salter and Jaala Torrence have had bright spots throughout the season, but Fouts has been the driving force for Alabama in the circle. She’s pitched 213 1/3 innings (No. 6 in the nation) in 40 appearances. Torrence has pitched 60 innings and Salter 69 2/3.

"We are taking it one day at a time," Prange said. "We have a lot more softball left to play and I know everyone on this team is prepared and has been putting in the work, trusting who we are and trusting each other."