Tag: Ali Newland

LSU softball announces addition of 3 veteran transfers

Beth Torina has reloaded the roster after quite a few big names left this offseason.

It’s going to be a changing of the guard for LSU softball entering the 2025 season.

Star pitcher [autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag] returns. However, many big names, including [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag], [autotag]Ciara Briggs[/autotag] and [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag], will not. Coach [autotag]Beth Torina[/autotag] turned to the transfer portal in search of experience and succeeded.

Earlier this week, LSU announced the addition of three transfers: infielder [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] (Oklahoma), outfielder [autotag]Jalia Lassiter[/autotag] (Ole Miss) and pitcher [autotag]Ashley Vallejo[/autotag] (McNeese).

Hodge was a member of the Sooners’ last two national title-winning teams, batting .284 this past season with six extra-base hits and nine RBIs. Lassiter was Ole Miss’ leader in hits in 2024 with a .314 average, four home runs and 29 RBIs.

Unlike Hodge and Lassiter, who have two remaining years of eligibility, Vallejo is a graduate transfer. In four years at McNeese, she went 45-24 on the mound with a 2.44 ERA and 306 strikeouts in 416 2/3 career innings.

After leading the Tigers to three consecutive Women’s College World Series appearances and four in her first six seasons, Torina is looking to return to Oklahoma City for the first time since 2017 after a super regional exit this spring.

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LSU softball star Ali Newland named Academic All-American

Ali Newland shined both on the field and off it while at LSU.

LSU outfielder [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] starred on the field in 2024, earning quite a bit of accolades for her play. She also shined off the field, however, and she’s been named a Third Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).

Newland is an LSU graduate who had a big part in the team’s success during her final season in 2024. She batted .304 with 56 hits, 41 RBIs, 35 runs, and nine home runs. She also had a perfect fielding percentage in the outfield.

Her play this past season earned her quite a few accolades, including All-SEC First Team and All-SEC Defensive Team honors. She becomes the seventh LSU player to earn CSC All-American honors and the first since Shelby Wickersham, who was a second-team selection in 2020.

Newland will be continuing her softball career with the professional Florida Vibe where she’ll be joined by LSU teammate [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag].

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LSU’s Ali Newland, Taylor Pleasants sign with professional softball team

Ali Newland and Taylor Pleasants will remain teammates at the professional level.

Following the conclusion of LSU softball’s season in the Stanford Super Regional, two stars from the squad have signed with the same professional softball team.

Both [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] and [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] inked deals with the Florida Vibe of the AFP (Association of Fastpitch Professionals). The Vibe are one of four teams in the independent softball league.

Pleasants was a 2021 All-American and three-time All-SEC selection, finishing her career with a .311 batting average. She ranks No. 3 all-time in program history with 217 RBIs, No. 4 with 47 home runs and No. 8 with a .570 slugging percentage.

She also holds the program record with 59 double-plays and ranks second in assists with 520.

 

Newland, meanwhile, was a one-time First-Team All-SEC selection and finished her career with a .289 batting average to go with 166 hits, 122 RBIs, 104 runs and 25 homers. She had a perfect fielding percentage this season and was named the 2024 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, just the second Tiger to earn that distinction.

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LSU falls to Stanford in Game 2 of super regional

LSU couldn’t carry over its offensive performance from Friday as the Tigers dropped Game 2.

After an offensive explosion in Game 1, LSU softball failed to conjure up the same fireworks in Game 2. Stanford’s NiJaree Canady had a season-worst performance on Friday but returned to ace form on Saturday evening.

Canady held LSU hitless through four and when the Tigers got runners on late, the lineup couldn’t cash in. Canady, who led the nation in ERA entering the super regional, made the clutch pitches to preserve the shutout.

For most of the night, LSU’s [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag] went pitch for pitch with Canady. But Stanford got to Lynch in the fourth when Taryn Kern and Kyran Chan notched back-to-back extra base hits. Stanford seized momentum and added two insurance runs in the seventh, but Lynch stuck it out and completed the game.

Lynch allowed seven hits and struck out three on the night.

On offense, LSU threatened Canady a few times. The Tigers’ lineup brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, but the timely hits weren’t there.

[autotag]Ciara Briggs[/autotag] and [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] were the only Tigers to record hits on Saturday night while Lynch drew a couple of walks.

Torina and LSU will look to win the decisive game three on Sunday to clinch its first Women’s College World Series appearance since 2017. With Canady making back-to-back starts, pitching depth could be on LSU’s side entering Sunday, but the lineup will have to deliver.

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LSU softball run-rules Stanford in Game 1 of super regional with electric offensive performance

The Tigers delivered one of their best offensive outings of the year against an elite pitcher.

LSU softball saved arguably its best offensive performance of the season for a good time.

Facing one of the nation’s top pitchers in Stanford’s NiJaree Canady to open super regional play on Friday night, the Tigers shelled her en route to an 11-1 run-rule win in five innings.

LSU got things going on offense early. After a single and an error that allowed a runner to reach to lead off the top of the first, [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag] hit an RBI double, followed by a two-RBI single from [autotag]Raeleen Gutierrez[/autotag] as it was 3-0 with no outs yet in the game.

But that was all the Tigers managed, and after Stanford got a run back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single, things were quiet until the fifth inning. [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] and [autotag]Maci Bergergon[/autotag] added to that lead with a pair of RBI homers as LSU led 7-1.

That wasn’t all the Tigers had in store. After three straight singles, Lynch completely broke the game open with a grand slam, giving the team an 11-1 lead that was at the run-rule margin.

The lead ultimately held as LSU finished things up early in the fifth. Now, coach Beth Torina’s team will go into Saturday’s Game 2 with the chance to punch its first ticket to the Women’s College World Series since 2017.

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LSU softball breezes past Southern Illinois into Baton Rouge Regional final

LSU is now one win from securing a berth in a super regional.

LSU softball is just one win away from a berth in a super regional after it won its winners’ bracket game against Southern Illinois 4-1. Coach Beth Torina’s team moves on to the regional final, where its opponent hasn’t yet been determined.

The Tigers started out hot in the first inning when [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] hit a two-run bomb to take the early lead, and it nearly added to it in the second inning but stranded a pair of baserunners. But in the third, [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] hit a two-out RBI single as LSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

The Salukis managed to cut into the lead in the sixth inning, though it was just one run as they trailed by two entering the final frame. However, that margin didn’t last as a sacrifice fly from [autotag]Ciara Briggs[/autotag] in the top of the seventh put the Tigers back up three runs.

[autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag], who allowed just four hits and one run while striking out eight in a complete game, retired the side in order to secure the win in the bottom of the seventh.

Now, Southern Illinois faces the winner of an elimination game between Cal and Jackson State. The winner of the subsequent elimination game will face the Tigers in Sunday’s regional final needing to win two in a row.

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LSU softball falls to Missouri on extra-innings walk-off in SEC tournament semifinals

LSU’s run at the SEC tournament came to an end on Friday in another extra-innings battle.

LSU softball’s run at the SEC tournament in Auburn, Alabama, came to an end on Friday evening.

The Tigers found themselves in another low-scoring extra-innings battle, this time against Missouri in the semifinal round. In a game that went to the eighth tied at one run apiece, Missouri ultimately walked it off with a sacrifice fly and will move on to the SEC championship.

Mizzou stranded a pair of baserunners in each of the first two innings, but it finally got on the board first with a solo home run off [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag] in the third on what was its first hit of the game.

LSU had less trouble finding hits but couldn’t get on the board until the fifth inning when [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] led off with a double, and a double from [autotag]Madyson Manning[/autotag] later in the frame scored the Tigers’ first run of the game with one out. That was all they managed in the inning, however, as we went to the sixth in a tie game.

That tie would last through the seventh, and after LSU went down in order in the top of the eighth, Mizzou had no such troubles as it managed to end the game.

The Tigers will now await their NCAA tournament fate. They are essentially a lock to host a regional and could find themselves hosting a super regional, as well.

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LSU softball knocks off No. 1 seed Tennessee in SEC tournament quarterfinals

LSU knocked off the defending tournament champions and move on to the semifinal round.

LSU needed 14 innings to dispatch Alabama in the first round of the SEC tournament on Wednesday. Against top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers in Thursday’s quarterfinal, it took just seven.

After a seven-hour weather delay, the Tigers held on to win 2-1 against the defending tournament champion Volunteers, and now they move on to the semifinal round on Friday.

LSU drew first blood in the opening inning with an RBI single from [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag], though it ultimately proved to be a missed opportunity as it left three runners on base in the frame.

The Tigers missed out on opportunities to expand on that lead, stranding a runner in both the second and fourth innings. But in the fifth, [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] gave them some insurance with an RBI single.

That two-run advantage wouldn’t last long, however. In the bottom of the frame, [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag] allowed her first run of the day after an RBI single, and that was enough for [autotag]Beth Torina[/autotag] to make a change with runners now at second and third.

[autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag], the hero from the opening round win, entered the game and drew a strikeout to escape the jam. LSU stranded another runner in the top of the sixth, but Berzon worked through the bottom of the inning cleanly as the Tigers were now three outs away from knocking out the top team in the tournament.

Berzon allowed a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh, but the Vols weren’t able to mount a rally.

LSU will now advance to face the winner of the game between No. 4-seeded Arkansas and No. 5-seeded Missouri in the semifinals on Friday. That game will be at 3 p.m. CT.

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LSU softball shuts out Liberty to open final regular season series

LSU opened the weekend in impressive fashion on Friday night.

The LSU softball team dropped its final four SEC series, but it’s looking to recapture some momentum this weekend against Liberty in its final regular season series. The Tigers got off to a nice start in that regard, taking Game 1 against the Flames in 4-0 shutout fashion.

It was a pitching duel early on with neither team scoring a run in the first four innings. But the Tigers struck first in the fifth after a pair of singles. [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] hit a sac fly, and [autotag]Raeleen Gutierrez[/autotag] followed with an RBI double.

In the sixth, LSU picked up some insurance after a throwing error from Liberty on a sac bunt allowed the Tigers to put two more runs across.

[autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag] pitched a complete game, allowing five hits but no runs. She struck out four batters and walked none.

The Tigers return to the field Saturday night for Game 2 at 6 p.m. CT as they look to clinch the series.

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LSU softball ends SEC play with 4-straight series losses after Game 2 loss to Arkansas

The Tigers will look to avoid a sweep on Sunday.

The LSU softball team has spent most of the season ranked in the top 10, but it’s going to enter the postseason without much momentum.

The Tigers lost 4-1 in Game 2 on Saturday at home to Arkansas, dropping their fourth-straight SEC series to close out conference regular season play.

After a quiet first inning, the teams each added a run in the second inning as Arkansas hit an RBI double in the top of the frame and LSU scored on a wild pitch following a pair of singles in the bottom of it.

The third, however, is when things fell apart for [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag] on the mound. She walked four batters in the frame, two of which came with the bases loaded. She then gave up an RBI single as LSU fell behind 4-1, and she was pulled from the game in favor of [autotag]Raelin Chaffin[/autotag].

Heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Tigers needed quite a bit of magic. Things didn’t get off to a great start with two outs, but after a walk and a single, the tying run came to the plate.

With the series hanging on Ali Newland’s shoulders, she made contact and sent a ball deep, but it wasn’t deep enough as the Razorbacks averted disaster and clinched the series.

The Tigers will look to avoid a sweep in Game 3 on Sunday in the final conference game of the regular season before it hosts Liberty next weekend when it hosts Liberty to close out the regular season overall.

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