TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama softball opened its weekend series Friday night against LSU with a 4-0 shutout at Rhoads Stadium.

Alabama (35-15, 11-8 SEC) got out of an early threat in the top of the first as LSU (37-12, 10-9 SEC) started the inning with two singles before a double play and a caught stealing got the Crimson Tide out of the frame unscathed. Kenleigh Cahalan put the Crimson Tide ahead in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run moonshot to right. With two out in the bottom of the second, Larissa Preuitt slapped a single about five feet down the third base line and a throwing error on the play went all the way into the right field corner, allowing her to come all the way home and make it 3-0.

With two on and two out in the bottom of the third, Marlie Giles sent a single up the middle to drive in Kristen White and make it 4-0. With the score the same in the bottom of the sixth, Alabama looked to tack on some insurance with two in scoring position and one out but ultimately could not add to its four-run lead. The lead proved enough for Montana Fouts (19-8) and the Tide defense, with a popup and back-to-back strikeouts capping the shutout.

Four of Alabama's seven hits came from the bottom third of the order, including a 2-for-3 day from Preuitt in the eight spot. Cahalan's home rune extended her current hitting streak to five games, while Jenna Johnson increased her reached-base streak to six. Fouts allowed just five hits, all singles, in the complete-game shutout, her sixth in SEC play.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy

"I have to give it up to the fans. It was unbelievable to have this many people over the course of the entire season and to top it off with the 100,000th fan at the Rhoads house was super cool. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it, the team appreciates it and the entire staff appreciates it. It's just awesome for women's sports. With this being the 50th anniversary of Title IX, it shows that the best softball fans in the country are right here in Tuscaloosa."

Highlights

• Alabama improves to 42-45 all-time vs. LSU, including a 22-13 mark in Tuscaloosa
• The Crimson Tide is 28-7 when scoring first and 16-5 when scoring in the first inning
• The shutout was Alabama's 16th this season, seven of which have come in SEC play
• The Tide has won game one in six of its seven SEC series
• All four runs for Alabama were scored with two out and all three RBIs came from freshmen
• Kenleigh Cahalan's home run was her seventh of the season, her first since game three at Tennessee (March 26)
• Friday was the fourth two-hit game of the season for Larissa Preuitt, her second in SEC play
• The shutout was the 33rd of Montana Fouts' career, now five shy of second-place Kelsi Dunne (2008-11) in the Alabama career records
• The win was Fouts' 93rd, four shy of fourth-place Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06) with 97

Scoring Summary

B1 | Kenleigh Cahalan crushed a two-run home run to right field (2-0, 2 Out)

B2 | A single and a throwing error into the right field corner allowed Larissa Preuitt to round all the bases and slide into home (3-0, 2 Out)

B3 | Marlie Giles sent a two-out single up the middle, driving in Kristen White from second (4-0, 2 Out)

Up Next: vs. LSU (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

• Saturday, April 29 - 1 p.m. CT - ESPN2
• Sunday, April 30 - 11:30 a.m. CT - ESPN