Patrick Murphy tried to give Montana Fouts a moment.

In the top of the seventh inning, Murphy watched Fouts allow a home run that sunk the Tide’s comeback hopes. Sensing an opportunity, Alabama’s head coach wanted to give his player her metaphorical roses. To him, this was Fouts’ Cuba Gooding Jr. in “Jerry Maguire” scene: a star on their last rodeo getting to soak in the praise from the crowd one last time.

In his head, though, he knew she wouldn’t go for it. So, Murphy jogged to the circle, exchanged a few words with Fouts and hurried back to the dugout. As she’s proven for the last five seasons, and reinforced over the last few weeks, Fouts is a competitor to the end.

Fouts was a couple of different things for Alabama softball, too: ace; four-time All-American; teammate; best friend; role model. Through it all, she handled it with grace and passion. And that didn’t stop on the doorstep of her final time pitching for the Crimson Tide.

“I would take any second to be out there,” Fouts said after the 2-0 loss to Stanford. “Home run or not, I love playing softball. I wouldn’t change a thing. I think Murph knew that before he ran out there, that I wasn’t coming out of the game. I would never take a pitch off from playing a game with these girls.”

The ways to describe Fouts only grew more extraordinary through her career, which came to a conclusion at the Women’s College World Series. Murphy likened her presence to Tua Tagovailoa or The Beatles or Michael Jordan getting off the team bus to a mass of roaring fans.

The stats and accolades don’t fall too far behind either. Fouts was a three-time Gatorade player of the year in Grayson, Ky. She was the SEC freshman of the year. Fouts led the nation in strikeouts two seasons later and finished with 100 wins and 1.66 ERA.

In totality, Fouts’ run to history reinforced a neat piece of UA marketing. Legends are made in Tuscaloosa, and Fouts is the latest example.

“I’ve read this thing about giving all the feelings, give me anger, upset, happy, sad, all the feelings,” Murphy said in an emotional postgame press conference. “That’s what she wants in softball. Give her the heartache. Give her the triumph. She’s been like that from day one.

“She has the most competitive spirit I’ve seen in a pitcher that wears the ‘A.’ I mean, she’s come through time and time again. … She can talk to an 80-year-old as easily as an eight-year-old. Not many kids can do that. Not many teenagers, not many college kids, not many adults can do that. She can. She makes everybody feel special. She takes her time with everybody. She’s just an icon in the sport.”

Murphy watched first-hand as Fouts developed into a household name. Scan the crowd at any Alabama contest and you’d see her signature ‘14′ printed on the backs of multiple jerseys and t-shirts. Listen to the roar from Rhoads Stadium when her name is called. Murphy said he’s even watched Fouts give autographs at the team hotel in Oklahoma City.

Alana Vawter, Stanford’s pitcher who hung with Fouts through six innings, said she met Fouts for the first time Thursday when the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced its year-end awards. As Vawter learned she was an All-American, there Fouts was patting her on the back.

“She’s in a league of her own,” UA alum and ESPN analyst Kayla Braud said. “… She’s just different. Being the face of softball is insane for someone in her early 20s. I just don’t know how often a player like that comes along.”

For Alabama, quite often. But even Braud couldn’t fully explain the star power Fouts wielded. The closest comparison Braud had was Jackie Traina, her teammate in UA’s 2012 championship run. Fouts would miss out on a ring during her tenure, but this season was about more than that for her, especially when it nearly ended with a hyperextended left leg on May 11.

As Alabama went down in order in the seventh inning, Fouts made her way out of the dugout. Tears pooled under her eyes. Teammates walked over for hugs. Then, she turned around and led one last ‘Ala-bama’ chant with the crowd.

Murphy doesn’t expect the legend of Fouts to end with back-to-back losses in Oklahoma City. He projected her to be on the cover of “every newspaper, every magazine, you name it” as she makes a run with USA softball in the 2028 Los Angeles. But a chapter closed on Friday night.

“I’ve been thinking about (the praise she has received) a lot recently. I didn’t start playing the game of softball just to win a national championship. I started playing because I love it,” Fouts said. “I love the game. I love the struggle that it brings me sometimes. I love, like Murph has taught me, to be an overcomer. I love that. I love that about our team. I love the memories. I love my teammates. I love that it’s brought me a family. (A national title) would have been great, but I’ve won in life.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].