The Athletes Unlimited Softball League closed its first season in a way familiar to the fans at Rhoads Stadium – with Montana Fouts as the winning pitcher.
Fouts struck out seven and yielded five hits and two walks in seven innings during the Talons’ 1-0 victory over the Bandits on Sunday in Tuscaloosa.
Sunday’s victory followed a 3-1 win by the Talons in Game 1, a contest that was suspended because of rain in the sixth inning on Saturday and completed at the Crimson Tide softball program’s home field on Sunday morning.
In Game 2, the only run came on Sydney Romero’s home run in the top of the sixth inning.
Game 2 also had a rain delay, with a stoppage of more than one hour coming after the fourth inning. The Bandits had four of their baserunners against Fouts after the delay, but did not score. An unassisted double play by first baseman Mary Iakopo put the Talons within one out of the victory, which Fouts recorded with a strikeout.
The Talons had the best record during the AUSL regular season at 18-6, with the Bandits qualifying for the championship series at 15-9.
The softball circuit has four teams – the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts – that barnstormed through the league’s inaugural season. The schedule included stops in Rosemont, Illinois; Wichita, Kansas; Sulphur, Louisiana; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Norman, Oklahoma; Omaha, Nebraska; Round Rock, Texas; Seattle and Salt Lake City as well as Tuscaloosa.
A four-time All-American selection by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association – first team in 2021 and 2023 and second team in 2019 and 2022 -- at Alabama, Fouts posted a 100-32 record with a 1.66 earned-run average in 160 games. In 852.2 innings, Fouts struck out 1,181 with the Crimson Tide.
The NFCA Pitcher of the Year in 2021, Fouts threw a perfect game against UCLA in the Women’s College World Series that season.
During the AUSL regular season, Fouts had a 3-2 record in 11 games, including five starts. She posted a 2.71 ERA in 31 innings. Fouts struck out 26 while yielding 27 hits and nine walks. The Talons put Fouts on the injured list on June 20, and she returned to the active roster on July 13.
Fouts moves on to compete in the AUSL All-Star Cup beginning on Saturday. During August, 60 AUSL players will compete to win an individual championship under a unique scoring system while playing on teams redrafted each week by the top points producers.
The AUSL All-Star Cup will be contested in Rosemont, Illinois, and Holly Springs and Greenville, North Carolina.
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