The Week Three That Was For Alabama Softball

A 5-0 showing at the Easton Bama Bash has Crimson Tide feeling better about itself

Things improved dramatically for Patrick Murphy’s Team 24 during Week 3 of the 2020 season. 

A 5-0 tournament will do that when your first two weekends resulted in 1-3 and 3-2 finishes. 

Consequently, the Crimson Tide’s season record improved to 9-5.

After his team closed out Louisville 10-0 in five innings Sunday to sweep all five of its Easton Bama Bash games, Murphy said he saw several areas of improvement over the weekend.

“Hitters getting on base,” Murphy said. “Our team on-base percentage was over .500. We had two players over .700 so it was consistently somebody on base most every inning.

“The sense of urgency was really good by the offense. I thought we had really good starting pitching. We still need to work on some team defensive stuff.”

Two players especially upped their games over the weekend: sophomore pitcher Montana Fouts and junior third baseman Maddie Morgan.

Fouts won two games in three days including Sunday. Morgan’s bat woke up. Murphy was glad to see both.

After Friday’s 5-0 win over Penn State, Murphy told TideSports.com that Fouts “just looked like a totally different kid: the kid from last year, really.

“I think it helps that every now and then, when she throws at night she looks a little bit harder, faster. That’s just the benefit of playing at night. And, of course, I don’t think it’s easy to hit in 37 degrees and the kid’s throwing 66, 68.”

After the two home wins Fouts was 2-2 with an ERA of 2.23 after coming in 0-2, 4.88.

“I spend a lot of time with Montana away from softball,” sophomore shortstop Skylar Wallace said. “You can see it in her eyes when she’s right.”

Fouts made the All-Tournament team. 

Wallace was MVP after driving in five runs Sunday including a three-run homer to clinch the walk-off 100 win.

Also on the all-tournament team was Morgan, who hit her first homer of the season Saturday after sitting out Week 1 with a suspension. For the weekend Morgan hit .455. All-tournament member KB Sides hit .667 and Wallace .600.

Fouts went 12 shutout innings over the weekend and struck out 18 with two walks.

Early-enrollee catcher Abby Doerr also seems to be gaining confidence both at the dish and behind the plate. Doerr had several key hits over the weekend and threw out an attempted base stealer Saturday.

“Every time I want to say something, I have to say to myself, ‘She’s a senior in high school, basically, and she still hasn’t had a lot of practice,’” Murphy said. “Baby steps with her. She’s just going to keep getting better and better.”

Another weekend development saw Murphy settle on junior right fielder Sides as his cleanup hitter and her six-game hitting streak tells why.

Meanwhile, Oregon transfer Alexis Mack has a five-game hitting streak and continued to get on base and steal at the rate Murphy expects. On Sunday, Mack went 1-3 and her season batting average stood at .395.

Sophomore shortstop Skylar Wallace has settled in at the two-hole while senior Bailey Hemphill had been third in Murphy’s batting order. 

The coach believes in a speedy nine-hole hitter and freshman center fielder Jenna Johnson is giving him just that along with solid defense as senior Elissa Brown recovers from a broken wrist.

How about this catch from ⁦@Wallace2Skylar⁩?!? Big-time play here in the second inning! pic.twitter.com/JrqpGo2m2A

— Gray Robertson (@gray_robertson) February 23, 2020

Freshman Savannah Woodard has been the primary second basemen but senior Taylor Clark got a look there Sunday and got a hit.

Next on the schedule for Alabama is a Wednesday game at UAB. The Crimson Tide returns home to host the Easton Crimson Classic on Friday through Sunday with a field including No. 4/5 Arizona, McNeese, and UT Arlington.