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Alabama and Auburn softball teams dance together during lightning delay

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•04/21/23•

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Alabama Crimson Tide softball
Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK

Nothing brings two fierce rivals together like a lightning delay. For further proof, look at the Alabama and Auburn softball teams.

As the two teams were sitting through a delay prior to Friday’s game in Tuscaloosa, they started dancing to the “Cupid Shuffle” in the outfield. The game ended up being postponed to April 22 at 12:30 p.m. ET, but both teams had their fun while they waited for a decision.

They certainly did their dance.

Alabama is in the midst of an impressive season, bringing a 33-13 overall record and a 9-6 record in SEC play into Friday’s game. The Crimson Tide are once again led by pitcher Montana Fouts, who was set to pitch in the matchup. She has 16-6 record this year and has a 1.53 ERA.

Last time out, Fouts threw her fourth career no-hitter in a 4-0 victory over South Carolina. She struck out 10 batters as part of her impressive performance, but she wasn’t happy about allowing two walks.

“It was good to win the series and win the first game obviously, but I’ve still got some stuff to work on,” Fouts said. “I don’t like free bases so some of that was on me. I could have done better than that, but we strung together some hits and played good defense and won the game. We’re going to get better from the game three loss. We’ll work on some things and move on.”

Auburn has the exact same record as Alabama — 33-13 overall, 9-6 in conference action. Maddie Penta leads the Tigers in the circle with a 19-5 record and a 1.03 ERA.

The game will mark Auburn’s first time playing against Alabama in Tuscaloosa since 2017, meaning no current Tiger has played the Crimson Tide there. It’ll be a different experience for Auburn, as head coach Mickey Dean said ahead of the matchup.

“This is the first time any member of our roster has played a series at Alabama,” Dean said. “We did have an SEC Tournament game there in 2021, but we weren’t playing Alabama. We didn’t face them in that tournament. It’s going to be a grind. We have to show up. We have to pay attention to us and get our energy from our teammates and our dugout.”

With the postponement, Alabama and Auburn will play a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game will be at 12:30 p.m. ET.