| BSB/SB ðŸ¥Ž The Leadoff Classic : Alabama Splits Opening Day Doubleheader: (Saturday, 1:30 & 4 CT)

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This Week: Leadoff Classic (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)​

  • Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Lehigh – 3:30 p.m. CT
  • Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Georgia Southern – 6 p.m. CT
  • Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Georgia Southern – 1:30 p.m. CT
  • Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Lehigh – 4 p.m. CT
  • Radio: 97.5 FM | nick975.com

Scouting Alabama​

  • Alabama opens the 2023 season at home, hosting the Leadoff Classic where the Crimson Tide will face Lehigh and Georgia Southern
  • This weekend marks the first time Alabama has opened the season at home since 2010
  • The Tide enters the season ranked in the top 10 in the preseason national polls, placing as high as No. 6
  • Alabama was selected fourth in the SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll with Montana Fouts and Ally Shipman earning Preseason All-SEC honors
  • Head Coach Patrick Murphy is in his 25th season as head coach at Alabama with a 1,193-333 (.782) record
  • Alabama returns 11 players from last year's team, including All-SEC honorees Montana Fouts, Ashley Prange, Ally Shipman and Bailey Dowling, while also welcoming five freshmen and three transfers
 
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball split its opening day doubleheader Friday at Rhoads Stadium, falling 7-4 to Lehigh in the opening game before rebounding with an 8-2 win over Georgia Southern in the nightcap.

Alabama (1-1) battled Lehigh (2-0) in a back-and-forth opener, with a late three-run double making the difference in the Mountain Hawks' upset win. The Crimson Tide responded in the second game of Friday's doubleheader against Georgia Southern (0-2), scoring eight unanswered to overcome an early 2-0 deficit behind a complete game from Montana Fouts (1-0) in the circle.

Kali Heivilin, Ally Shipman, Ashley Prange and Larissa Preuitt each had three combined hits between the two games, including home runs from Heivilin and Prange. Heivilin and Preuitt combined for seven of the team's 12 RBIs, with two additional ones coming off a home run from Emma Broadfoot in her Alabama debut. All eight of the Tide's newcomers saw time in at least one game on Friday, with six of them earning a hit. In the circle, Fouts got the complete-game win against the Eagles tying her career high with 16 strikeouts.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy

"The key word today was 'bounce-back'. Lehigh hit the ball, period. The three-hole hitter for Lehigh was their hero. She had the home run and she had the bases-loaded double. She got her hits when she needed them. We should have scored more runs. We got the two-run home run in the first inning and then they sit down nine in a row. To me, that was the key to the game. We played yo-yo softball, we scored and then they scored.

"I was really pleased with the second game, just coming back. Montana had a no-hitter going and then it was three straight hits with two outs. But then we scored three in the bottom, so it was a good bounce-back. Up and down the lineup in the second game, everyone did something positive. You're going to get hit with adversity, so it's all about what you do after that. We can't dwell on it - it's over with. They beat us in game one, so now it's about what you are going to do about it in the second game."

Highlights​

  • The loss to Lehigh was Alabama's first to open the season since 2010, a 2-1 loss to Missouri that was also the last time the Tide opened the season at home
  • Freshmen Kenleigh Cahalan, Marlie Giles, Larissa Preuitt and Kristen White along with transfers Lauren Esman and Emma Broadfoot all earned a hit in their Crimson Tide debuts
  • Ashley Prange and Ally Shipman each had two hits vs. Lehigh, their 37th and 43rd career multi-hit games, respectively
  • The 2-for-3 performance from Bailey Dowling in game two was her 14th career multi-hit game, while it was the second for Kali Heivilin and first for Larissa Preuitt
  • Heivilin's four RBIs against Georgia Southern was also a career high
  • Montana Fouts tied a season high with 16 strikeouts against the Eagles, her 43rd career game with double-digit strikeouts and her 66th complete game

Scoring Summary vs. Lehigh​

  • B1 | Ashley Prange sent the first pitch of her at-bat to center field for a two-run home run (2-0, 0 Out)
  • T2 | Lehigh broke into the run column with an RBI double (2-1, 2 Out)
  • T4 | Another RBI double tied the game (2-2, 2 Out)
  • B4 | Emma Broadfoot went opposite field with a two-run home run down the right field line (4-2, 1 Out)
  • T5 | A two-run home run for the Mountain Hawks tied the game up (4-4, 1 Out)
  • T7 | With the bases loaded, a Lehigh double down the third base line brought all three runners home (4-7, 0 Out)

Scoring Summary vs. Georgia Southern​

  • T4 | The Eagles got on the board first with a two-run double (0-2, 2 Out)
  • B4 | With two in scoring position, Larissa Preuitt poked a double down the left field line to tie the game (2-2, 1 Out)
  • B4 | Kali Heivilin drove in Preuitt with a single up the middle (3-2, 1 Out)
  • B5 | A nine-pitch at-bat for Bailey Dowling ended in an RBI single (4-2, 1 Out)
  • B5 | Preuitt drove in Emma Broadfoot with an RBI single (5-2, 2 Out)
  • B5 | Heivilin smashed a three-run home run to center field (8-2, 2 Out)

Up Next: Leadoff Classic​

  • Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Georgia Southern – 1:30 p.m. CT
  • Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Lehigh – 4 p.m. CT
 
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