Tag: Beth Torina

LSU softball’s Taylor Pleasants named SEC Player of the Week

Taylor Pleasants led a hot start for LSU softball, totaling four home runs and 13 RBI over the weekend.

After a hot start to the season, [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] was named SEC Player of the Week.

Pleasants totaled four home runs and drove in 13 runs over the weekend. A junior from Texas in her fourth year with the program, she’s been a steady contributor for the last couple of years.

She was second-team All-SEC last spring and appeared in 143 games as a Tiger. Pleasants is a career .325 hitter with 33 homers.

Pleasants’ fast start sets the table for her to be one of the SEC’s best players in an offense that could be among the conference’s best. LSU is 5-0 after a weekend that included a 12-0 victory over a ranked Oregon State team.

The Tigers will be back in action Thursday against Eastern Illinois to kick off a weekend that also features contests against hot Utah and Central Arkansas teams.

LSU hasn’t been to a Women’s College World Series since 2017 and will look to end that drought behind a strong lineup and improved pitching.

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Recapping Tigers softball’s perfect season debut at the LSU Invitational

The Tigers began the season 5-0 with a combined run margin of 41-9 over the weekend.

Spring is just around the corner, and that can only mean one thing: Diamond sports are upon us.

The No. 25-ranked Tigers softball team began its season over the weekend, playing host for the LSU Invitational. It played five games, all of which it won with three coming via run rule, and the total margin in those contests was 41-9

LSU begins the season 5-0 with a pair of shutout wins against a ranked opponent. After playing five games in three days, the Tigers will have most of the week off before hosting a slate of games over the weekend that will feature matchups against Eastern Illinois, Ohio, Utah and Central Arkansas.

In the meantime, here’s how coach Beth Torina’s squad fared in each contest over the weekend.

How to watch LSU softball’s elimination game vs. Cal State Fullerton at the Tempe Regional

The Tigers will try to keep their season alive against the Titans on Saturday evening.

The season will be on the line on Saturday evening for coach [autotag]Beth Torina[/autotag] and the Tigers.

They entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Tempe Regional but suffered an upset in their first game on Friday night against the No. 3-seeded San Diego State Aztecs in a 10-5 loss.

Now, LSU draws an elimination game on Saturday evening against the Cal State Fullerton Titans, the No. 4 seed in Tempe who held a 2-1 lead against top-seeded Arizona State heading into the bottom of the six before they allowed a four-run bottom of the sixth that let the Sun Devils capture a 5-2 win.

The winner of this game will survive and advance to take on the loser of the winner’s bracket game between ASU and SDSU, which will be played first at 4 p.m. CT. Here’s everything you need to know to follow what could be the Tigers’ final game of the season if they can’t pull off a win.

A look at the LSU softball program ahead of the season opener

A look ahead to LSU softball.

The 2021 LSU Tiger Softball team finished the season last year with a loss in the Baton Rouge Super Regional against the Florida State Seminoles, who eventually went on to play the Oklahoma Sooners for the National Championship. That Super Regional is a series the Lady Tigers remember all too well.

“We have the whole FSU dogpile on our TVs,” said redshirt junior infielder Georgia Clark.

“The way last year ended it definitely put a spark under us,” said redshirt sophomore infielder Taylor Pleasants.

When you play in an emotional series like that and you come up short, you have two options. You can let it break you, or you can let it motivate you. The Lady Tigers have chosen to come back stronger.

“We’re going to go do weights and we’re going to do it to the best of our ability because maybe if we slacked off that one rep that might have been the difference between winning and losing,” said Pleasants.

“The way last year ended gives us the highest amount of motivation I think it was a really rough ending it was a tough pill to swallow. We saw so many opportunities where we could’ve had the last game go differently. I think we’re working every day to get opportunities like that back and make sure we take care of the ones that are in front of us,” said LSU Softball head coach Beth Torina.

The Lady Tigers had a very young team last year. They finished the season 35-22 with a team that had four Seniors and two Juniors. This means that 79% of that team is coming back this year. Led by Taylor Pleasants who finished last year with a .316 batting average, 12 doubles, 13 home runs, and 49 RBIs. Pleasants was recently named to the USA Softball Top 50 “Watch List”.

The Lady Tigers start the season ranked No. 14 in the USA TODAY Sports preseason poll and are picked to finish 6th in the 2022 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll. LSU will open the 2022 season with the Tiger Classic, playing host to South Alabama, Illinois, and Central Arkansas on Feb. 11-13.

LSU’s best head coaches of the decade: Beth Torina

In her time at the helm, Torina has a record of 360-155, good for a .699 winning percentage.

Over the past eight years, LSU softball coach Beth Torina has coached her team to the Women’s College World Series four times.

In her time at the helm, Torina has a record of 360-155, good for a .699 winning percentage.

She led the Tigers to become the SEC West division champions during the 2013 season.

Although the Tigers have never won the national championship. Torina’s experience coaching the program to the Women’s College World Series four times could elevate the team to finally winning that desired trophy soon enough.

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Torina has brought in great talent over the years. From Carley Hoover and Shemiah Sanchez to Maribeth Gorsuch and Aliyah Andrews, Torina has put LSU softball on the map over the years.

During the 2020 season, Torina had the Tigers ranked No. 5 in the country with a 21-3 record. Gorsuch tossed the first seven-inning no-hitter in program history, and the team looked poised for a national championship run. Then the coronavirus shut down sports and that quest for a title ended abruptly.

But, given her track record, Torina could have the Tigers looking like an elite team again next season. Though most of the seniors will likely depart, the roster will still be stacked with great talent behind them to fill the void.

Even in the years when the Tigers didn’t finish greater than fifth in the SEC standings, Torina remained calm and coached her program all the way to the Women’s College World Series.

If there is one LSU program outside of the football team that could win a championship next, it’s Torina’s softball team.

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