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We announce this week’s Extra Inning Softball National High School Player of the Week awards by heading to Kentucky to honor a senior pitcher who was nearly perfect—one hit allowed in three games—and for the season hasn’t given up an earned run!
And our co-runner up is a familiar name as just two weeks ago she was highlighted in the same spot but her numbers again were too impressive to ignore.
If you’d like to nominate players for future consideration, email us at [email protected].
We’re looking for top performances in high school play each week that can be on a single game or cumulative week-by-week basis.
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Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week
Montana Fouts (East Carter, Grayson, Kentucky)
Softball may have been the furthest thing from Montana Fouts mind Saturday as she went to her school prom—“Enchanted Forest” was the theme—after playing high softball games each of the three nights leading up to her day off yesterday.
Based on the season she’s had so far, the Kentucky high school standout was well deserving of a night away from the playing field.
Montana has had one of the most storied high school careers of recent memory as she’s won every type of honor—from USA Today All-American to Gatorade State Player of the Year—and as impressive as that sounds, this—her senior season—may be her best.
For the season, the 6-foot-2 University of Alabama signee is 19-0 and in 109 innings pitched has struck out 244 opposing batter while only giving up five walks. One run was scored in the third game of the season but that was unearned. And opponents are hitting a measly .047 against her. Even her fielding percentage of .971 is impressive.
She’s also shining offensively as she’s batting .579 with 35 RBI and an on-base percentage of .630.
The Raiders are 21-0 added three more dominating wins this week in 17-0, 5-0, and 12-0 shutouts in consecutive nights—Wednesday, Thursday and Friday—and look poised to go deep into the Kentucky playoffs which start in three weeks.
In the first game, Montana only pitched three innings because it was a blowout, but struck out six and didn’t allow a baserunner. In game two, she gave up a bunt single in a seven inning complete game with 16 K’s and then Friday struck out 12 in a five inning shortened perfect game—her sixth of the season to date.
To recap: 15 innings pitched, one hit allowed and 34 strikeouts. At the plate, she went 5-for-6 with eight RBIs, three walks, two doubles and two home runs.
What’s helped her become even more dominant this year?
“I’d say this year my curve is working and I’m hitting spots better,” she told Extra Inning Softball late Friday after her perfect game. I’m throwing harder and my change-up is improved, but probably the main thing is last year I was 67-68 mph but not consistent; this year, I’m 68-71 mph consistently.”
Montana has a lot of softball ahead of her, both finishing out her high school career, but also playing this summer with the Louisville Lady Sluggers, but she won’t be playing a complete schedule with the club team.
The dominating hurler will head to Alabama on July 16th to practice with Patrick Murphy’s Tide team and then will head to Japan for 10 days as the SEC team will play games against Japanese teams. The team will return August 4 before Montana returns to Kentucky for about three weeks before leaving for her freshman year of college.
“It’s exciting,” she concluded. “I’m looking forward to finishing out my senior season and then having fun in the summer including getting to meet and play with my future college teammates.”
Runner-Up National Player of the Week
Alyssa Arden (White House Heritage, White House, Tennessee)
Alyssa is also a senior pitcher and if her name sounds familiar it’s because she was a National Player of the Week runner-up twice before (March 25, April 15) and thought she’s come just shy of being the Player of the Week, her consistently excellent performances week in and week out will all but ensure her All-American status for her final year of high school ball.
Alyssa, who has signed with Tennessean Tech, pitched 17 1/3 innings this week going 3-0 with while striking out 41 batters allowing giving up two hits (opponent’s batting average: .036) and three walks.
The Tennessee senior also batted .706 (12-for-17) with 16 RBI and four home runs and perhaps most impressive was her .876 average with runners in scoring position.
Alyssa started the week against Alabama’s reigning Class 7A state and started the game with a three-run home runs and had two more in the game to finish 4-for-4 with seven RBI.
Her next appearance she didn’t pitch, but went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs. In Game 3 this week, Alyssa came from the bullpen and of the 14 batters she faced, she struck out 12 including the first 9 batters in her 4 1/3 innings of work. At the plate, the two-way standout batted .333 for the game.
The week culminated in a district doubleheader to close out the regular season and, fittingly on Senior Night, dominated in the circle in both appearances: in the first contest she struck out all 12 batters she faced in four innings in a run-rule shortened game and also went 3-for-3 with four RBI and in Game 2 had similar results a the two-time District MVP pitched a five-inning shutout in another run-rule win striking out 10 of the 15 hitters she faced. Alyssa also went 2-for-3 at the plate including a two-run home run and collected three RBI.
For the season Alyssa is batting .600 with 12 home runs and 48 RBI in 85 plate appearances and on the mound is 19-1 with a 0.71 ERA and 241 K’s and only 17 walks in 118 2/3rd innings.
Previous Extra Inning Softball National High School Players of the Week
- April 22: IF Kasey Simpson (Keller, Texas)
- April 15: SS Jayda Coleman (The Colony, Texas)
- April 8: P Megan Faraimo (Cathedral Catholic, San Diego, California)
- April 1: C Macy Simmons (Hamilton, Chandler, Arizona)
- March 25: C Paige Pfent (Springstead, Spring Hill, Florida)
- March 18: SS/OF Deja Westbrook (Arcadia, California)
- March 11: P Megan Faraimo (Cathedral Catholic, San Diego, California)