Looking Back at an Unusual Season for Alabama Softball

The metaphorical mud nonetheless hasn’t settled from Alabama softball’s season. The bodily dust from the Rhoads Stadium area would possibly nonetheless be in just a few cleats and on just a few luggage too after the Crimson Tide’s early exit from the NCAA Event by the hands of the Stanford Cardinal within the Tuscaloosa Regional.

The 2022 Alabama softball workforce had thrilling moments with a number of top-10 wins, an ideal recreation, no-hitter, comebacks and walk-offs. Group 26 was additionally answerable for some not as optimistic firsts like the primary workforce since 1999 to not win a recreation on the SEC Event, and the primary to not make the Tremendous Regionals for the reason that format change in 2005. Although it had flashes of brilliance, the offense turned ice chilly by the tip of the season which in the end result in the elimination from the event. 

“I feel our workforce protection was the very best it’s been in years,” stated Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy. “The pitching employees up and down was good. And I feel our hitters are gonna get higher as they become older, as a result of they should expertise the crud look to the good things.”

Whereas issues appear to only be raring up for a wild offseason in Tuscaloosa, it is time to look again and what went proper and what went mistaken within the 2022 season. 

Scorching Begin

Alabama got here out with scorching bats, actually. The Crimson Tide opened the season out within the dessert on the Candrea Basic in Arizona. On opening weekend the Crimson Tide hit 10 residence runs and scored 37 runs over the 4 video games with two run-rule victories. 

Murphy dislikes the phrase expectations and all that will include it, however Alabama was residing as much as its preseason expectations as a top-two workforce within the nation with a proficient roster led by two of the very best pitchers within the nation. 

As soon as the bats left the warmth and dry air of the dessert, the balls stayed within the yard just a little extra, however Alabama nonetheless had eight run-rule video games within the 20-0 begin to the season. 

The offense confirmed it was greater than able to backing aces Montana Fouts and Lexi Kilfoyl in offering run assist. And each pitchers proved they might go toe to toe with a few of the greatest aces across the nation with wins over Virginia Tech’s Keely Rochard and Emma Lemley on the Easton Bama Bash in February in again to again pitchers duels. The Hokies would go on to win the ACC common season title and earn the No. 3 seed within the NCAA Event. 

One other spotlight of the non-conference schedule was the Crimson Tide selecting up six wins throughout 4 day on the Mardi Gras Mambo in Louisiana. By means of the primary 4 weeks of the season, Alabama was persistently ranked No. 2 behind solely Oklahoma within the polls. 

Regular Keep

After the 20-0 begin in non-conference play, Alabama obtained a little bit of a punch within the mouth when SEC play began with a collection at LSU. Not solely did the Tigers hand Alabama its first loss, however additionally they took the collection from the Crimson Tide. 

Alabama misplaced a tricky midweek recreation in opposition to then No. 3 Florida State 6-5. The Crimson Tide then bounced again with collection wins in its subsequent 5 SEC collection together with sweeps over South Carolina and Mississippi State. 

With that kind of consistency within the hardest convention in faculty softball, Alabama stayed within the prime 5 of all of the nationwide polls throughout this stretch. 

Fouts was giving up extra runs than she was used to in her Alabama profession, however the offense was nonetheless placing up sufficiently big numbers to win collection weekend after weekend. Together with her excellent recreation in opposition to Georgia on April 4 and eight-inning, one-run efficiency in opposition to Florida on April 10, Kilfoyl was displaying she may develop into the Friday/Sunday starter if Fouts continued to battle in SEC play. 

The Crimson Tide got here away with a giant street collection win at Florida and nonetheless stood in good place to win the SEC common season title and earn a excessive nationwide seed within the postseason. The offense began to point out indicators of a battle in opposition to Mississippi State at residence, however a powerful comeback within the recreation two of the collection to erase a five-run deficit over the ultimate two innings capped by a Megan Bloodwork walk-off hit. 

From March 11 (begin of SEC play) to April 19 (doubleheader in opposition to North Alabama and Alcorn State), Alabama went 18-6 and averaged 5.3 runs per recreation on offense. Within the circle, Fouts was beginning to discover her groove with all three wins within the Mississippi State collection, whereas solely permitting one earned run all weekend. Redshirt freshman pitcher Alex Salter was getting in on the motion together with her first no-hitter in opposition to Alabama State on March 29, and Kilfoyl made a return from harm to pitch within the April 19 doubleheader. 

Heading into the ultimate collection of April, Alabama was 38-6 total and 13-5 within the SEC with nice positioning proper behind Arkansas to compete for the common season crown. 

Sluggish Decline

The best way Alabama’s schedule was arrange, the ultimate two SEC collection of the 12 months would have a bye weekend sandwiched in between with a midweek street journey to Western Kentucky. The ultimate seven video games on common season schedule have been all winnable. 

First up was a collection at SEC bottom-dweller Texas A&M. As a substitute of sweeping the collection, Alabama misplaced a convention collection for the primary time since opening weekend in opposition to LSU. In recreation two , Alabama obtained run-ruled 9-1 for the primary time, however bounced again to take recreation three to salvage a recreation on the weekend. The run-rule loss ended up being the final time Kilfoyl pitched on the season. 

Issues obtained worse for the midweek matchup at Western Kentucky the place the Hilltoppers jumped on the board with three runs within the first inning, and the Alabama offense was shut out via the primary six innings, finally shedding 3-1. As a substitute of appearing like they’d one thing to show after shedding the collection at A&M, the offense sputtered in opposition to a a lot much less proficient mid-major workforce. 

The bye weekend got here at a much-needed time after the losses, plus some journey snafus for the journeys to Texas and Kentucky. Nevertheless, popping out of the bye, issues weren’t a lot better for the offense. Alabama misplaced the collection opener to Missouri at residence. Group 26 responded to win the following two to take the collection, however the offense struggled to string collectively consecutive hits or accumulate hits with runners in scoring place. 

Group 26 went on to be the primary workforce in Patrick Murphy’s tenure to lose its opening recreation on the SEC Event when Fouts needed to face that Tiger workforce for the fourth time in a row, and the offense obtained shutout for the primary time. 

Although the workforce was excited heading into the postseason, the tip of the common season was an indication of what was to return in postseason for the Crimson Tide. 

Alabama opened regional play with a win over Chattanooga, however obtained shut out by Stanford on Saturday morning which compelled the Crimson Tide to the loser’s bracket in Regionals for the primary time since 2007. 

And Group 26 did battle all the best way out of the loser’s bracket to drive a winner take all regional championship recreation, however Fouts ran out of gasoline after throwing greater than 400 pitches on the weekend, and the offense was shut out for the second time in as many days. 

Over the ultimate 13 video games of the season, Alabama went 6-7, scoring simply 2.4 runs per recreation together with the three shutouts. This resulted within the season-ending loss to Stanford which saved Alabama out of the Tremendous Regional spherical for the primary time ever.

Throughout this stretch, Ashley Prange was the one constant bat within the lineup and a number of gamers have been going via prolonged slumps on the plate. General on the season, Prange and fellow switch Ally Shipman led the workforce in common, hits, doubles and have been tied for second with eight residence runs. Shipman was the workforce chief with 46 RBIs, however solely had three complete over the past 16 video games of the season. 

Alabama completed the season with a 44-13 report, and is in a particularly uncommon place for this system. For the final 17 years, the Crimson Tide has nonetheless been taking part in into the final weekend of Could with many 12 months bleeding over into June on the Ladies’s Faculty World Sequence. Murphy known as it a bizarre feeling to be carried out this early, however stated his workforce will use it as motivation transferring ahead. 

“I am excited concerning the future as a result of we’ve got a bunch of individuals coming again, and we’ve got three actually good freshmen coming,” Murphy stated.