by Malcolm Butler
With Louisiana Tech and Jacksonville State deadlocked in a 0-0 ballgame in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday afternoon at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field, Allie Furr came to the plate with the game on the line.
And the red-shirt freshman did what she has done for most of her rookie season – she stayed true to herself.
Allie, a Ruston native and Cedar Creek graduate, lined a pitch up the middle and into centerfield that helped the Bulldogs ultimately pull out a 1-0 win to clinch the all-important Conference USA season.
It didn’t surprise Tech head coach Josh Taylor.
“She is very comfortable with who she is,” said Taylor, who recruited and signed Allie. “And when you are comfortable with who you are … you just go out and be who you are. She does that day in and day out. She seems to find the barrel an awful lot.
“She was able to line it up the middle and get a big hit (Sunday). She just finds the barrel. She is really good in big moments. It just goes back to her mentality. Her mentality is everything for her, and I think it’s a testament to her.”
Allie gives some of the credit to Taylor and the Tech coaching staff for her early college success.
“I just try to stay true to myself,” said Allie. “That’s what Coach Taylor and Coach Tyler (Krobetzky) preach to me. They say, ‘Don’t try to be someone at the plate that you’re not.’ So, I just have confidence in myself and my ability, so I don’t let any moment get too big. I just stay within myself.”
However, Allie is the first to admit that she lost that confidence and more following an ACL injury in her final high school game for the Lady Cougars in April of 2023. In a win over rival OCS, Allie came down on first base awkwardly trying to beat out a throw. She said she knew something was wrong immediately.
“I knew,” said Allie. “I knew something was not right even though everyone around me was telling me that I was going to be fine. I knew. That’s why I was so upset. I knew something was wrong.”
The following day, Dr. Sol Graves confirmed Allie’s fears. However, the competitor in her still wanted to play in Creek’s next playoff game.
“She wanted to get back on that field when she tore her ACL,” said her father, Chip. “When we saw Dr. (Sol) Graves, she begged him to let her play.
“He said, ‘Look, if you weren’t playing (college) softball in the next four years, I would say go for it. But it isn’t worth it.’ She was mad. She was mad at me, her mama. She was mad at Dr. Graves. She just wanted to compete.”
It’s that competitive spirit that makes Allie successful. It’s also what got her through one of the toughest times of her life as she had to sit out the 2024 season while rehabilitating from the injury.
“It was pretty tough,” said Allie. “It was the hardest thing I’ve had to go through. I never had to deal with that before. I relied heavily on my parents, my brother, my coaches and my teammates, especially my roommates at the time. They helped take my mind off everything.”
More than a year removed from finally being released for full activities, the mental anguish of having to sit on the sideline and watch your teammates play has dulled a little.
“At first, she was like, ‘Everything I’ve worked for is gone,’” said Chip. “And we were like, ‘No, it’s not. Coach Taylor is there for you. He is behind you. He has told you that.’
“We just gave her some time and gave her some space. And then it got to a point where it was, ‘Okay. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and pick yourself up. There are people who have been through a lot worse.’ She eventually came back around and was ready to work on it.”
Allie said having a coaching staff that was supportive during the process was also a huge help during the dark time.
Taylor remembers those talks.
“When we did have conversations, it was just about us being there for her,” said Taylor.
“It was, ‘Hey, we are here for you. You have a bright future. We love you. It’s tough. We understand it’s tough.’
“You don’t try to tell her it’s great. I don’t think that helps. I’ve learned over the years that you don’t try to solve all their problems. You just try to be there for them through their problems and try to help them when they ask. That’s really what the role was last year.”
Allie spent last summer playing in the Florida Coast League, a summer league for college softball players. She believes that it was the first big step in regaining her form and her swag.
“It helped me so much,” said Furr, who earned a spot in the All-Star Team for the league. “I regained all the confidence I had lost in my ability to play softball. I gained confidence in my knee. I wasn’t scared to go out there and play. I was having fun again. I found my love for the game again. There was no stress, and I was just happy to be on the field again.”
Fast forward to this spring. Allie, whose older brother Kasten played collegiately including his final season for the Bulldogs, is thriving in the DP role for Tech.
She has started in 30 of Tech’s 38 contests and is currently batting .290 with 27 hits, 14 runs, 5 RBI and 5 stolen bases.
And her head coach said she is doing everything he knew she could do when he recruited her out of high school, even a little quicker than he thought.
“I think her going to play in Florida last summer was big for her,” said Taylor. “That’s what you always worry about coming off a knee injury, especially when you are a speed kid and a slapper. I was concerned about the mentality when it came to that.
“But when she went to Florida and had success, I think that helped turn the corner for her. She did well in the Florida league, and when she got back, she was able to have a really good fall.”
As impressive as Allie has been this season, she has taken her game up even another notch in Conference USA action. She is batting .346 with a team-high 18 hits in Tech’s 15 CUSA games and is a big reason the Bulldogs are currently in sole possession of second place in the league standings.
Allie said she is happy again, which isn’t a surprise based on the reasons she chose to become a Bulldog in the first place.
“I went to other schools and visited and talked to other coaches, but nothing felt the same as being here at home and getting to play in front of my family,” she said. “When Coach Taylor and his staff came in … it just felt like it clicked, and I just fell in love with it here.”
That feeling of admiration and respect is mutual.
“She is a mentally tough kid,” said Taylor. “She has speed. She is actually developing her stand and hit game. I think she is going to be really good at that as she progresses and develops. She controls her barrel really well. She doesn’t strike out much.
“I think what happened last year has helped mold her into the mentally tough kid that she is because she takes nothing for granted anymore. She is just dynamic. I think she will develop into a high-level outfielder in the future.”
And the way Allie is playing, the future is now.
