A new wall is set for installation in Alabama softball’s Rhoads Stadium. Rain delayed the replacement last week when the Crimson Tide pitching staff did its job to keep the fencing out of the equation.

At 15-0, the No. 5 team in this week’s poll is off to its best start since the 2013 squad won the first 22. There’s room to equal the 2012 national title team that went into April before losing a game.

Still, after a rare two-year absence from the Women’s College World Series, a few new faces have helped pumped new breath into the program.

Alabama is outscoring opponents 113-27 in the 15 wins entering a six-game week starting Wednesday. The Tide takes its 23-0 series record to Birmingham for a 6 p.m. CT visit to UAB (8-7) before playing host to the Crimson Classic from Friday-Sunday.

“The team defense has been the biggest surprise to me,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “We were last in the SEC in errors and first in walks, which was not a good combination. And they’ve done a lot better job of going after batters and team defense is 100 percent better.”

Alabama’s fielding percentage of .987 is fourth-best among teams with at least 10 games so far this season.

The emergence of freshmen pitcher Montana Fouts has a lot to do with the pitching success. The Grayson, Kentucky product got the call against ranked teams Arizona and Minnesota (twice) and has allowed just three earned runs in her 6-0 start. That put her ERA of 0.54 up to No. 6 among pitchers who have thrown at least 30 innings.

Fouts arrived just as four-year ace Alexis Osorio graduated. The 6-foot-1 rookie brings a presence more like Jackie Traina (2011-14) than Osorio (2015-18). The highly-recruited player from rural eastern Kentucky came with high expectations, though nothing is certain in the transition from high school to major college softball.

“You never know because the hardest spot to recruit and predict success is pitching,” Murphy said. “She’s faced teams with four good hitters but never nine.”

In 39 complete innings, Fouts has struck out 48 with just three walks and 21 hits. She allowed her first home run last weekend against No. 24 Minnesota. Murphy said Fouts has “awesome control” and works quickly in the circle. The two-time SEC freshman of the week’s fastball touches 70 miles per hour.

“She’s the hardest working pitcher we’ve had ever,” Murphy said, “And she’s only been here six months.”

Sarah Cornell, a transfer from Hofstra, is 4-0 with a 1.09 ERA with a fastball clocking in at 67 to 68 on the speed gun.

At the plate, Kaylee Tow is batting .389 to lead a lineup with seven hitters at .300 or better. Bailey Hemphill has the power with five home runs and 34 total bases. Her 23 RBIs is No. 4 nationally.

Tow also has a perfect fielding percentage with a team-high 73 putouts in the outfield.

After the Crimson Classic, the Tide opens SEC play next week with a home series against Missouri.

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.