Montana Fouts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Montana Fouts |
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| Born: June 4, 2000 Charleston, West Virginia |
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Montana Fay Fouts, born on June 4, 2000, is an amazing American softball pitcher. She plays for the United States national softball team. Montana was a four-time All-American pitcher at the University of Alabama. She is especially famous for throwing a perfect game against UCLA in the 2021 Women's College World Series.
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Montana's Early Life and High School Success
Montana Fay Fouts was born in Charleston, West Virginia. When she was 10, she moved to Grayson, Kentucky, with her mother. Her father often drove 80 miles to watch her high school games.
She went to East Carter High School. There, she was named Kentucky's Miss Softball. She also won Kentucky's state Gatorade Player of the Year award for softball three times (2016, 2017, and 2018).
Montana set some impressive records in high school:
- She holds the Kentucky high school softball ERA (Earned Run Average) record of just 0.16. This means she allowed very few runs.
- She set a state record for the most perfect games in a single season (9).
- She also had 14 no-hitters in one season.
- Overall, she had 111 career high school wins.
- She recorded 1,483 strikeouts, 77 shutouts, 25 no-hitters, and 15 perfect games.
Montana's College Softball Journey
Montana Fouts decided to play for the University of Alabama in 2014. This was during her first year of high school.
Freshman Year: A Strong Start
Montana made her first appearance for Alabama on February 8, 2019. She played against Troy. In that game, she got nine strikeouts and allowed only one run.
In her freshman year, she had a great record of 21 wins and 6 losses. Her ERA was 1.39, and she had 193 strikeouts. Montana helped the Alabama softball team reach the 2019 Women's College World Series. There, she pitched shutouts against Arizona and Oklahoma. Alabama eventually lost to Oklahoma in the semifinals.
Because of her amazing performance, Montana was named the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year. She was also part of the 2019 SEC All-Freshman team.
In August 2019, Montana was invited to try out for the United States women's national softball team for the 2020 Summer Olympics. She did not make the team that year.
Sophomore Year: A Shortened Season
The 2020 softball season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, Montana had 3 wins and 3 losses. Her ERA was 2.04, and she had 41 strikeouts.
Junior Year: Record-Breaking Performances
In her junior year (2021 season), Montana had an outstanding record of 27 wins and 4 losses. Her ERA was 1.61, and she recorded 349 strikeouts.
She led Alabama to win their first SEC tournament championship since 2012. They beat Florida 4–0 in the final game on May 15, 2021. Montana was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). She set a new tournament record by getting 39 strikeouts over three days.
In the 2021 Women's College World Series, Montana helped Alabama win 5–1 against Arizona. She had a career-high 16 strikeouts in that game. Montana then pitched the sixth perfect game in Women's College World Series history. This was the first perfect game since 2000! She achieved this in a 6–0 victory over UCLA.
Later in the tournament, Alabama was eliminated after losing to Florida State. Montana and her teammate Bailey Hemphill were named to the 2021 Women's College World Series All-Tournament Team. She also won several big awards:
- 2021 NFCA National Pitcher of the Year
- 2021 D1Softball Pitcher of the Year
- 2021 SEC Pitcher of the Year
Senior Year: Continued Excellence
Montana finished her bachelor's degree in psychology in December 2021. She then started studying hospitality management in graduate school.
During her senior year (2022 season), Montana played in 39 games, starting 36 of them. She had a record of 24 wins and 8 losses, with a 2.10 ERA and 277 strikeouts. She won the SEC Pitcher of the Week award four times, more than any other player in the conference. She also led the SEC in strikeouts. After the season, she was named a top-25 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and a second-team All-American.
Redshirt Senior Year: Finishing Strong
In her redshirt senior year (2023 season), Montana had a record of 25 wins and 11 losses. Her ERA was 1.49, and she had 323 strikeouts. After this season, she was named Softball America Pitcher of the Year.
Montana finished her college softball career with the Crimson Tide with amazing stats:
- Second in program history for strikeouts (1,181).
- Third in shutouts (35).
- Fourth in wins (100) and complete games (89).
- Fifth in ERA (1.66).
In 2023, Montana Fouts won the Honda Sports Award for softball. She was the first Alabama player to ever win this special award.
Professional and International Play
Professional Career
On April 17, 2023, Montana Fouts was chosen in the sixth round of the 2023 WPF draft. She was picked 23rd overall by the Smash It Sports Vipers.
International Career
In July 2022, Montana played for the United States women's national softball team at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. She helped the USA team win the gold medal game against Japan, with a score of 3–2.
On August 31, 2023, Montana was again chosen to play for the United States national team. This time, it was for the 2023 Pan American Games.
Statistics
| YEAR | ERA | W–L | IP | SO | BB | H | R |
| 2019 | 1.39 | 21–6 | 181.2 | 193 | 57 | 115 | 46 |
| 2020 | 2.04 | 3–3 | 37.2 | 41 | 22 | 38 | 16 |
| 2021 | 1.61 | 27–4 | 213.1 | 349 | 49 | 143 | 59 |
| TOTALS | 1.68 | 51–13 | 431.5 | 583 | 128 | 280 | 121 |
