Over the weekend, the No. 16 Alabama softball team competed one last time at Rhoads Stadium for the final home series of the regular season. The Crimson Tide perhaps had one of its toughest conference matchups of the season as it faced off against the No. 13 Louisiana State University Tigers. 

Ending its last series at home, Alabama was able to successfully win the series over the Tigers and take two of the three games. With LSU being a tough opponent, the win is crucial as the postseason approaches. 

Game one 

To begin the weekend, the Crimson Tide got off to a strong start at home. Keeping the Tigers scoreless, senior Montana Fouts controlled the game from the circle and picked up a shutout victory as Alabama took care of business to win 4-0. 

Alabama took control of the game from the first inning when senior Ally Shipman put herself on base after a fielder’s choice ground ball. With two outs, freshman Kenleigh Cahalan blasted a no-doubter over the right-field fence for a two-run home run to take an early 2-0 lead. 

However, the Crimson Tide did not stop there. It tacked on another run in the second inning when freshman Larissa Preuitt showed incredible hustle for a homer within the park. A swinging bunt to the catcher resulted in a throwing error that allowed Preuitt to round all the bases and score, bringing the lead to 3-0. 

While the Tigers struggled to get runners across the plate, Alabama continued to add to the lead after a single by freshman Marlie Giles in the third inning brought home yet another run for the Crimson Tide to take a 4-0 lead.  

“We had really good energy from the beginning of the game,” said Preuitt. “Kenleigh hitting the home run at the beginning of the game was huge, and we had really good defense all game and kept the energy up.” 

Fouts continued to break down the LSU lineup with each batter she faced, concluding her complete game shutout with six strikeouts and five allowed hits.  

Game two 

For the second game of the weekend series, the matchup did not go as planned for Alabama. The Crimson Tide struggled to get the bats going and suffered a 6-1 loss to the Tigers. 

LSU got started exactly how it wanted to after junior Danieca Coffey led off the game with an infield single and advanced to third base off of a throwing error. Following that was a double into left field to bring Coffey home for the first run of the game. 

Things went from bad to worse for Alabama as two back-to-back hits from the Tigers resulted in another run and brought the lead to two runs. However, the bad luck did not stop there. Sophomore McKenzie Redoutey ripped a single into right field to bring home two more and take a commanding 4-0 lead in the first inning.  

After the Crimson Tide went three up, three down in the first and second innings, the Tigers saw a chance to add onto their lead. After walking the leadoff batter and giving up a single, Redoutey delivered for her team with a single to bring home two more runs, bringing her RBI total to four and making it a 6-0 lead. 

Alabama was finally able to respond in the fourth inning after junior Bailey Dowling blasted a solo home run over the center field wall to put a run on the board for her team. Unfortunately for head coach Patrick Murphy’s squad, the home run was the final hit that his team could tally, and the Crimson Tide suffered a tough loss to even the series.  

“I give a lot of credit to LSU, they came out and played well in all three phases of the game,” said Murphy. “They hit the ball well, their pitcher had a great game, and they played great defense behind her.”  

Game three 

With the series tied at one game each, both teams knew game three was going to be a battle to win the weekend series. Alabama knew it was its last chance to win a game in front of its home fans this season and came out and did just that as the Crimson Tide won the final game 2-0. 

Alabama started the game just as it wanted to, putting up an early run in the first inning. After a quick first out from senior Jenna Johnson, Ashley Prange stepped up to the plate and delivered a solo home run to take a 1-0 lead. 

From then on, it was a battle between both pitchers. Montana Fouts continued to be spectacular from the circle, seemingly striking out almost every batter she faced. LSU graduate student Ali Kilponen was able to perform well in the circle as well, only allowing three total hits from Alabama. 

Though it faced tough pitching, the Crimson Tide still managed to put another run on the board in the third inning. Preuitt was walked and advanced to third base after a big single by Jenna Johnson. Once again, Prange was able to do her job, grounding a ball up the middle and bringing home Preuitt for the second run of the game.  

“We trust Montana completely with our defense, so it was nice to be able to have something to back her up offensively,” said Prange. “Every practice, [Murphy] is always putting us in different situations that would be like pressure in a game.” 

Fouts continued to control the Tigers throughout the rest of the game and only allowed one more hit. She finished her game with nine strikeouts and picked up her second shutout win of the weekend.  

“Montana just knows how to get into the zone. We all saw it in her face that it was going to be hard to beat her,” said Murphy. “Overall, it was so much fun to watch today; Ashley with two big RBIs and a home run was great.” 

As the end of the regular season is almost here, the Crimson Tide will be back in action for its last series of the year on the road against the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday, May 5 at 6 p.m CT.