Patrick Murphy shares Montana Fouts' message to Alabama after loss to Tennessee

For the third straight series in the NCAA Tournament, Alabama has its back against the wall. The Crimson Tide dropped Thursday’s Women’s College World Series opener to Tennessee, setting up a win-or-go home matchup against Stanford on Thursday.

It’s not the first time Alabama will look to avoid the dreaded second loss. In the Regional round, the Crimson Tide fell to Middle Tennessee State before getting a 1-0 win to advance to the Super Regionals. That’s when they lost to Northwestern in the opener, which they proceeded to avenge by winning back-to-back games to make the WCWS field.

You don’t have to tell the players they’ve been in this spot before, though. According to head coach Patrick Murphy, star pitcher Montana Fouts took care of that after the Tennessee game.

“Afterwards, the coaches said their thing, and Montana said, ‘Look, we’ve been here before, twice. Supers and Regionals,'” Murphy told reporters after the game. “It was MTSU, win or go home. Northwestern, win or go home. We’ve been in this situation, so it’s not a big deal. So it shouldn’t be like this nervous.

“This probably is the way it’s been written for this team, to make it the hard way. We have to play better defense. We have to get a good start from the starter. Then, obviously, the third thing is to key hit, and we need to do that early. I thought our at-bats got better as the game went along.”

Patrick Murphy: Montana Fouts was available for Alabama, depending on the situation

Fouts — still dealing with a knee injury that kept her out of the SEC Tournament — didn’t pitch against Tennessee. Murphy said that was by design given her injury, but she was available if needed. Remember, she pitched in the finale against Northwestern, getting the final out to help lead Alabama back to the WCWS.

However, it had to be the right situation for the nation’s strikeout leader to enter the circle, according to Murphy.

“She’s fine,” Murphy said. “To me, it’s like either tied, within a run or a lead. So I’m not sure what’s going to happen tomorrow, but today, that would have been the deal.”

Alabama’s season again hangs in the balance when the Crimson Tide takes the field against Stanford Friday night. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET from USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.