Patrick Murphy Explains What Montana Fouts Means to College Softball
The Alabama Crimson Tide softball team’s season came to an end on Friday with a 2-0 loss against Stanford that closed the door on the legendary career of Alabama pitcher Montana Fouts.
Fouts finished off her legendary career in the Super Regional round of the 2023 NCAA Softball Tournament with an upset loss to the No. 9 seed, Stanford. In her career in college softball, Fouts became one of the biggest names in the game and brought in a wave of new eyes to the sport, and while Friday’s loss was a disappointing finish for the legend, Alabama HC Patrick Murphy explained post-game what makes Fouts so special.
Murphy detailed Fouts’ passion for the game and the multiple facets that made her a legend by saying, “She has just been… number one, like she says she just loves the game. She does, she absolutely loves all of it. I’ve read this thing about give me all the feelings, give me anger, give me upset, give me happy, give me sad, give me all the feelings, that’s what she wants in softball. Give her the heartache, give her the triumph. She’s been like that from day one. She has, you know, the most competitive spirit I’ve seen in a pitcher that wears the A. She’s come through time and time again, and you guys know this who cover us, but she can talk to an 80-year-old as easily as an eight-year-old. Not many kids can do that. Not many teenagers, not many college kids, not many adults can do that. She can, she makes everybody feel special, she takes her time with everybody, she’s just, she’s an icon in the sport. And I hope to God that she gets to wear the USA uniform in 2028 in L.A. because I think that’s the next time it’ll be in the Olympics. She will be on the cover of every newspaper, every magazine, you name it, on the way up to the Olympics in 2028, I guarantee you, ’cause she’s not done with the sport, by any means. So you’re going to see her for a long, long time.”
While the final curtain call came for Fouts’ college career on Friday night, she exits the circle as one of the game’s most accomplished players, responsible for some of the best moments in college softball history including a perfect game in the 2021 Women’s College World Series final against UCLA.
