Alabama stayed alive in the SEC softball tournament Thursday night, but the health status of its ace pitcher remains unclear.

The fifth-seeded Crimson Tide beat host Arkansas 3-2 in nine innings at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Ark., to advance to the semifinal round. However, All-SEC pitcher Montana Fouts suffered a left leg injury in the seventh inning and could not finish the game, leaving her availability for the remainder of the tournament and the upcoming NCAA Regionals up in the air.

Alabama coach Patrick Murphy told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game he wasn’t planning on pitching Fouts in the semifinals or finals even if his team got there. He did not specify the nature of Fouts’ injury, but said she appeared to lose her footing while landing on her follow-through.

“She slipped a little bit,” Murphy said. “I’ve seen it before with a pitcher where the surface gets really, really, like concrete, and it’s slick. … Hopefully, she’s going to be OK.”

Alabama (40-17) will meet the winner of Friday’s early game between No. 1 Tennessee and No. 8 Florida at approximately 5:30 p.m. Defending tournament champion Arkansas (38-17) is eliminated.

For a while, it looked like it might be the Crimson Tide who would be headed home after Thursday. Arkansas pitcher Chenise Delce all but shut Alabama down through the first eight innings.

However, the Crimson Tide scored twice in the top of the ninth to break a 1-1 tie. Delce walked Larissa Pruiett and Ashley Prange with one out, with both runners advancing on a passed ball.

That brought up Bailey Dowling, who lined a hard shot off the glove of Arkansas third baseman Hannah Gammill and into left field to score both runners. Alabama left runners on the corners in the inning, but reliever Alex Salter made the lead stand despite a wild bottom of the ninth.

After Reagan Johnson walked with two outs, Raigen Kramer blooped the ball just in front of a diving Kristen White in center field. Alabama second baseman Kali Heivilin picked up the ball and threw wildly toward home plate, with Johnson scoring and Kramer getting all the way to third.

Rylin Hedgecock was intentionally walked, but Salter got Cylie Halvorson to ground out and end the game. The game lasted more than three hours after beginning at 8:53 p.m., and finished just after midnight local time.

“It’s unreal, unbelievable,” Murphy said. “We’ve been working toward this all year. It’s a young team with eight newcomers, five freshmen. I think tonight we saw the real Alabama — gritty, resilient … determined — couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Alabama took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Ally Shipman scored on an error. That score stood until the bottom of the sixth when Arkansas tied it, but only after some clutch defense kept it a one-run game.

With two outs and a runner on second in the top of the sixth, the Crimson Tide’s Jenna Johnson singled up the middle. Reagan Johnson, the Razorbacks’ center fielder, made a perfect throw to the plate to eliminate pinch runner Faith Hensley and end the inning on a play that was upheld after replay review.

Arkansas — which had only one runner reach second base in the first five innings — finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth. Johnson beat out an infield single, then took second on a one-out wild pitch.

After Hedgecock was intentionally walked, Halvorson singled up the middle to bring home Johnson with the Razorbacks’ first run. Arkansas later loaded the bases with two outs, but Fouts struck out Kacie Hoffman to keep it a 1-1 game.

After Alabama went quietly in the top of the seventh, the Crimson Tide lost its most indispensable player in the bottom of the inning. Fouts injured her left leg landing after recording a strikeout for the second out.

The Alabama ace took two warmup pitches, but grimaced and hopped in pain after the second before walking off the field to a standing ovation. She allowed one run on five hits with three walks and nine strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.

Salter entered the game cold, and put next two hitters on base with a walk and an infield single (which was originally ruled an out, but was overturned via replay). However, she got Halvorson to ground into a forceout with the bases loaded and send the game to extra innings.

Alabama got Heivilin’s two-out double in the top of the eighth, but Delce struck out White for the third out. The Crimson Tide flashed some leather of its own in the bottom of the eighth, with Johnson making a diving catch in left before Hoffman grounded into an inning-ending double play.

That set up the offensive heroics in the top of the ninth, and Salter’s narrow escape in the bottom of the inning. Salter (7-3) got the win, allowed an unearned run on two hits in 2 1/3 innings with four walks and a strikeout.

Delce (20-9) took the loss despite going 8 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits with seven walks and 10 strikeouts. She threw 165 pitches, 106 for strikes.