With or Without Montana Fouts, Alabama Softball has a lot to Prove in Regional

There many not be another Power 5 conference team in the double-elimination tournament, but the Crimson Tide can hardly afford a repeat of last year.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The added motivation is staring the Alabama softball team right in the face, not that it could have avoided the issue anyway. This time last year the Crimson Tide had qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 23rd straight season, and it had never failed to reach the super regional stage since it became the final step to the Women's College World Series in 2005. 

That is until 2022. Not only did Alabama see its remarkable regional winning steak of 44 games snapped, but it failed to advance following a pair of 6-0 defeats to Stanford. 

"There's definitely a feeling that you don't ever want to repeat, the one from last year," said catcher Ally Shipman, a graduate student who has emerged to become one of the Crimson Tide's team leaders. "Never take it for granted. 

"When you came here you automatically thought 'Well, we're going to the supers again. Well this year we're making sure we focus on every little detail."

Alabama doesn't have another Pac-12 opponent in its bracket this weekend, but that doesn't mean there isn't another dangerous team in the four-team field. Central Arkansas, seeded second in the regional, is third in the nation in ERA this season, and the Bears have two pitchers they can alternate between.  

Kayla Beaver is eighth individually with a 1.09 ERA, and Jordan Johnson is 37th at 1.62. At 44-10, Central Arkansas is 16th in RPI, and ranked in the polls despite playing in the ASUN conference. Perhaps that's what appealed to the selection committee for this region, having great storylines with the top two teams, and a field in which No. 5 Alabama is the only one that didn't win its conference tournament. 

But last year's setback hasn't been the talk of the regional as the Crimson Tide comes in with a colossal-sized question mark in the circle as ace Montana Fouts is considered day-to-day after suffering a hyperextended knee last week during the SEC Tournament. Alabama has three other pitchers with Alex Salter (7-4, 2.51 ERA), Jaala Torrence (6-2, 2.71) and Lauren Esman (4-3, 2.82), but none have been overly consistent. 

Meanwhile, Alabama's offense has made strides lately, including at the SEC Tournament where it scored seven runs against Missouri, edged reigning tournament champion Arkansas on its own field in extra innings, and posted six runs against eventual champion Tennessee (without Fouts). 

"I think it gave us a ton of momentum, it gave us a lot of confidence," said Shipman, noting that the injury to Fouts has forced everyone else to step up, especially the pitchers. "We've had a great week at practice.

"I really think we're hitting our peak here at the right time."

"I think everyone can see the team coming together," senior left fielder Jenna Johnson said, and Alabama coach Patrick Murphy agreed. 

In February, the Crimson Tide opened the season with a loss against Lehigh, and closed the month with a home setback against Kennesaw State. March saw a rough three-loss trip to Texas, and Alabama subsequently ended up ion the short end of its first two SEC series. 

But in April it won four of its five SEC series, and then it began May with a series win at Ole Miss that included a seventh-inning comeback and the clutch down-to-its-last-out three-run home run by Johnson. By the time the SEC Tournament came around the Crimson Tide not only looked like a different team, but was playing like one as well. 

"Sometimes you need a little longer runway for a team to take off," Murphy said. "That was this year."

Alabama had better hope so because the other three regional foes showed just how tough they can be to eliminate when they all successfully navigated their way through the loser's bracket to win their conference tournaments.

That and the last thing the Crimson Tide wants is a repeat of last year. 

2023 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional

Alabama Crimson Tide

Coach: Patrick Murphy (1,233-351, 25th season)

Record: 40-18, seeded No. 5 in NCAA Tournament

Southeastern Conference: 14-10 regular season, reached semifinals of the SEC Tournament.

RPI: 12

Top pitcher: All-American Montana Fouts (23-9, 1.44 ERA) leads the nation in strikeouts with 311, but her availability is unknown after suffering a hyperextended left knee last week against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament. Alex Salter is 7-4 with a 2.51 ERA.

Top hitters: Freshman infielder Kenleigh Cahalan leads the team with 53 hits, one ahead of graduate-student catcher Alley Shipman, but graduate-student infielder Ashley Prange has emerged with a .314 average and team-leading 16 home runs and 45 RBIs. Junior Bailey Dowling is right behind her (.304, eight HRs and 43 RBIs).

Notes: Prange and senior Jenna Johnson were named to the All-SEC Tournament Team, with the former batting .364 and the latter .571 with five runs, five RBIs, four walks, three home runs, plus some outstanding fielding plays in left field. ... Alabama has played in every NCAA Tournament since 1999, Murphy's first year. This is the 20th time the Crimson Tide has hosted an NCAA regional. ... The team batting average is .279, and the staff ERA is 2.00. 

Central Arkansas Bears

Coach: Jenny Parsons (73-30, second year)

Record: 44-10

Southland Conference: 13-10. Lost the first game of conference tournament to North Alabama, had to win five straight to win first league title and clinch automatic bid.

RPI: 16

Top pitcher: Kayla Beaver (24-6), 1.09 ERA, 20 complete games with 10 shutouts, 186 strikeouts and 39 walks. She was on USA Softball's top 25 list of finalists for player of the year. Jordan Johnson is the other stalwart (1.62 ERA).

Top hitters: Sophomore infielder Kyler Griffin has the best batting average at .340, while team overall hits .277. Morgan Nelson has 21 home runs and 42 RBIs.

Notes: The Bears weren't eligible to host a regional because the stadium field has artificial turf. ... Central Arkansas is ranked No. 23 in the latest NFCA poll, No. 19 by D1Softball. ... Jenna Wilderman led the nation in stolen bases in 2021 with 56. She has 23 this season. ... In the 10 losses, the Bears lost by more than two runs only twice. ... Central Arkansas split four games against SEC competition this season. It lost twice to the host school at the LSU Tiger Classic in February, 1-0 and 3-1, and won a home-and-home midweek series against Arkansas, 2-1 and 4-0. The Razorbacks were a top-10 team during both losses. 

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Coach: Jeff Breeden (248-321, 11th year)

Record: 39-18

Conference USA: 13-10. Lost the second game of conference tournament against North Texas, the sixth-seeded team had to come back and win four elimination games to earn a rematch in the title game, which it won 3-2 in 12 innings. It was the second Conference USA title in program history.

RPI: 78

Top pitcher: Kamryn Carcich, a transfer from Murray State, has the best ERA (2.02), with 77 strikeouts and 53 walks, and she also has six saves. Gretchen Mead is 17-5 with a 2.20 ERA, with 114 strikeouts and 56 walks.

Top hitters: Amaya Harris is batting .388, while Laura Mealer is right behind her at .386, but with also a team-high 10 home runs and 51 RBIs. Mealer leads with the team with 28 stolen bases, and her 19 doubles ranked third in the NCAA.

Notes: MTSU has a team batting average of .296, and ERA of 2.45. ... It was picked eighth in the preseason Conference USA coaches' poll after finishing 19-34 last season. ... Shelby Sargent set a C-USA tournament record with six doubles and 17 total bases. 

Long Island Sharks

Coach: Roy Kortmann (787-691, 29th season)

Record: 32-24

Northeast Conference: 14-7. Lost the second game of conference tournament, had to come back through the loser's bracket and defeat Merrimack twice to win 11th conference title.

RPI: 168

Top pitcher: Lindsey Cowens (16-9) has a 2.34 ERA, with 160 strikeouts and 68 walks. The Sharks have two other pitchers with ERAs under 3.00, including Kira Buckner, who set an LIU record by striking out 11 straight batters against Fordham on Feb. 26.

Top hitters: Camryn Lyman hit .545 in the NEC tournament to be named MVP. She's hitting .317 this season, and .344 for her career. Is six hits shy of setting the program record. ... No one on the roster has more than seven home runs or 26 RBIs.

Notes: LIU is 5-18 all-time in NCAA regionals. Last appearance was 2016. Last win was 5-4 at Boston University in 2010. ... The last meeting with Alabama was the 2006 season opener, which Alabama won 5-1. Jenny Giles had a complete game in the loss, but went on to be the NEC Pitcher of the Year. ... Long Island has a 15-game losing streak against SEC opponents. 

Although Middle Tennessee and LIU did play earlier this season, with the Sharks winning the neutral-site game in early March, 7-2, the programs don't have much experience against each other. 

Alabama is 13-0 all-time against the other three teams, including 3-0 against Long Island (the most recent game back in 2006 in Boca Raton, Fla.), and 10-0 versus Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders last visited Rhoads Stadium in 2021, and also took an 8-0 loss in the lone postseason meeting in the 2018 Tuscaloosa Regional.

Alabama has never played Central Arkansas. The Bears are 3-0 all-time against MTSU, but the teams cancelled a midweek game this season.

SEE ALSO: How to Watch Alabama Softball in Tuscaloosa Regional