SEC Tournament: Alabama softball advances past Missouri as Ashley Prange hits two home runs
The only thing that didn't go Alabama softball and Ashley Prange's way in its SEC Tournament opener on Wednesday was the weather.
Prange led 5-seed Alabama (39-17) to a 7-2 win over 13-seed Missouri with two home runs in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Alabama took control of the game with four runs over the first two innings. The Crimson Tide saw Montana Fouts go all seven innings with 10 strikeouts.
The game was delayed five hours, in part to a four-hour lightning delay. Alabama advances to play 4-seed host Arkansas on Thursday, 35 minutes after the conclusion of Georgia-South Carolina.
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Prange leads as Alabama passes the bat
The first Prange home run started a chain reaction of quality at-bats for Alabama. Ally Shipman almost hit a home run but closed the first inning out. In the second inning, UA got seven at-bats: three hits and two quality outs with one batter reaching on an error.
Prange wasn't done. She hit a home run in the fifth, giving her six home runs in eight games versus Missouri. It is the second time this year she has hit two home runs in a game, the other vs. UCLA.
"All nine spots in the lineup were productive, and that's also what you really need in a big-time atmosphere versus a really good team," Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. "If you can get production one through nine and you have a pitcher like Montana, probably going to be a good night."
300 strikeouts for Montana Fouts
With her eighth strikeout of the night, Fouts crossed the 300-strikeout mark for the season, which leads Division I. It is the second season in her career that she crossed the mark. Fouts continued her stretch of dominance against Missouri − she didn't allow a run the first 18 innings she faced the Tigers. During the regular season, she recorded 26 strikeouts while allowing seven hits over 16 innings.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: SEC Tournament: Alabama softball advances past Missouri
