The number five seed Alabama Crimson Tide and hosts of the Tuscaloosa regional, routed Middle Tennessee State Saturday, 12-5. This week has been full of debate about whether Alabama received too high of seeding for the tournament, which granted them the host spot in Tuscalooa. The Tide took down LIU in a 5-0 shutout in Friday’s opening round.
The Tide is entering regional play without arguably the face of Alabama softball, pitching ace Montana Fouts. Fouts hyperextended her left leg in the SEC tournament last week. The 2021 NFCA Pitcher of the Year and three-time All-American is listed as day-to-day on her return to the Tide’s lineup for the postseason.
Dowling Bombs
In a season where the Tide has struggled to put the bat on the ball, relying on Fouts to save the day, they have managed to figure it out so far in the postseason. A slow start, the Tide went down 2-0 early on against the Raiders in the first two innings. Two fielding errors gave Alabama the go-ahead for a rally, scoring two runs to tie it up. Junior Bailey Dowling ripped a two-out bomb to left field to put two more on the board, giving the Tide a 4-2 lead. Jaala Torrence entered the circle for Alabama in the bottom of the third with bases loaded and one out. MTSU retook the lead 5-4 in the midst of the transition.
The Rally Continues
Things got chippy in the fourth as Sophomore Kali Heivilin smacked a two-run shot over the left field fence. This was Heivilin’s second home run of the weekend. Dowling came through for a two-run single to give the Tide the 8-5 lead. The two-out rally continued as the Raiders couldn’t find the strike zone, walking in three more runs for Alabama. A pitching change and a wild pitch added one more for the Tide, giving them a 12-5 lead to end the inning.
The defense held off MTSU for the remainder of the game, ending in a 12-5 final. The Tide moves on to the finals and will play Sunday at 2:00 pm CT.
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