Alabama Softball Prepares for Pitcher's Duel Ahead of Auburn's First Trip to Rhoads Since 2017

The top-two strikeout pitchers in the SEC will square off in Tuscaloosa this weekend for a rivalry series with huge implications.

It's a big weekend in Tuscaloosa, and I'm not talking about A-Day. 

For the first time since 2017, the Auburn Tigers are coming to Rhoads Stadium for a three-game series. It also happens to be Montana Fouts Senior Day Friday night. 

All three games will be televised. The Crimson Tide and Tigers are in a tie for third in the SEC standings and both looking to solidify a top-four seed in the conference and improve national standing for NCAA seeding. Oh, and did I mention that the series has been sold out for months with around 4,000 fans expected for each game?

No. 13 Alabama and No. 21 Auburn have the exact same record: 33-13 overall and 9-6 in SEC play. 

"Just a big-time series," Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said Thursday. "Really similar in terms of we've got Montana, they've got Maddie Penta. I think both teams really rely on that pitcher."

As Murphy pointed out, this weekend will be a showdown between two of the best pitchers in the SEC. Fouts leads the conference in strikeouts with 244. Penta is second with 227, and then there's a huge gap before the third-place pitcher with 146. 

Fouts is first in the conference in innings pitched with 158.1. Penta is right behind her for the Tigers with 156. The Auburn pitcher is second in the league in ERA with a 1.03 ERA on the season. Fouts is ninth with a 1.50. Penta has 19 wins. Fouts has 17. This weekend will not only factor huge into the league standings, but will likely have big implications on the SEC pitcher of the year race. 

"She's a great pitcher," Fouts said of Penta. "I'm excited for our pitchers, so I know it's going to pay off for them."

The Crimson Tide and Tigers did not meet in the regular season last year, but played a series at Auburn in 2021. Alabama swept the series, including the two games Penta started. In her appearances against the Crimson Tide that season, she gave up 16 hits and eights runs over 8.2 innings in two starts. Murphy said Penta has changed and developed a lot since the last meeting in 2021. 

Both pitchers throw with power and high velocity, which means they are both susceptible to the deep ball. Fouts and Penta have both allowed 12 home runs on the season. The Tigers are the bigger threat at the plate when it comes to home runs, hitting 54 on the season. In comparison, Alabama has hit just 41, but Bailey Dowling is heating up for the Crimson Tide with two home runs in Tuesday's doubleheader. 

"The biggest difference is that they hit more home runs than us," Murphy said. "And when they do, it's usually a good result. So we've got to keep the ball in the park all weekend. And then we have to scratch and claw and fight for whatever we can get."

Alabama has won its last three SEC series, including its first sweep of the season over Mississippi State last weekend, and is looking to keep the momentum going against the Tigers when the series open Friday night at 8 p.m. on SEC Network. 

"Momentum and bringing that into the next series," Fouts said. "Sometimes you've just got to win the ugly ones. I'd say a lot of us would say we didn't have our best games. Just being able to win on our bad days is good and something that we're working towards."

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