SOFTBALL: Team 26 Dances Through Mardi Gras Mambo

With Alabama softball's 8-0 win over No. 18/15 Louisiana at the Mardi Gras Mambo on Sunday, Team 26 moves to 15-0 on the season including five wins over top-20 competition.

Sunday morning's meeting with the Ragin' Cajuns at the Mardi Gras Mambo served as a rematch as the two teams faced each other on Thursday prior to the scheduled tournament, resulting in a 9-1 Tide win through five innings.

Alabama's rematch with Louisiana to close the weekend for the Tide didn't fare much better, with the Ragin' Cajuns losing in a run-rule stoppage again, this time by the score of 8-0 after five innings. Sophomore infielder Bailey Dowling went 2-for-2 with three RBI and graduate infielder Kaylee Tow went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a drawn walk in the closing victory.

Senior right-hander Montana Fouts picked up her sixth win of the season on Sunday after having to come in twice during Saturday's double-headers with Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech. Her final line in the starting appearance over Louisiana included seven strikeouts, four walks, and two hits from five innings of work.

While the Tide rolled on Saturday as well, its pitching in both games began to struggle as they made their way through the Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech batting orders for the second and third time.

Junior RHP Lexi Kilfoyl went for two innings in the first half of the double-header against Northwestern State on Saturday but was pulled due to what looked like an ankle injury. The diagnosis and a timetable for her return are still unclear at this time.

Redshirt freshman Alex Salter replaced Kilfoyl but got in a jam during the fourth inning, prompting Alabama coach Patrick Murphy to toss out NFCA pitcher of the year Montana Fouts to claim the Alabama win. The win by committee worked and the Crimson Tide walked away with an 8-3 victory.

In game two of Saturday's double-headers, sophomore right-hander Jaala Torrence held her own for 5.1 innings, giving up only three hits and two walks while handing out five strikeouts to the Louisiana Tech lineup. Fouts was called in again, however, and picked up her second save of the season with 1.2 innings pitched and three strikeouts as Alabama cruised to its seventh shutout of the season.

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RHP Alex Salter picked up her third win of the year against Nichols on Friday to open the tournament for Alabama, going for 4.1 innings with five strikeouts and two runs allowed. Torrence came in for clean-up duty in the fifth inning and recorded five strikeouts herself before sealing the 5-2 victory.

Montana's fourth win of the season came in the second game on Friday, a 5-0 mauling of Southeastern Louisiana, where she recorded 13 strikeouts from only two walks and three hits.

Freshman Megan Bloodworth knocked in her fourth home run of the season on Friday evening, a solo shot in the sixth inning expanding the Alabama lead to 3-0.

Alabama softball will catch a Wednesday night game at home against UAB at 6 p.m. before hosting the T-Mobile Crimson Classic at Rhoads this coming weekend. The tournament opens on Friday for the Tide as they'll square off with Texas at 6 p.m.

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