Tag: Sydney Berzon

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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Sydney Berzon named LSWA Pitcher of the Year

Sydney Berzon headlines the six Tigers players who were honored by the LSWA on the All-Louisiana teams.

After a fantastic sophomore season at LSU, softball’s [autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag] has been named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Pitcher of the Year in the state.

Berzon was also an All-American this season and last, finishing 2024 with a 20-9 record and 1.78 ERA while striking out 185 batters. Her play also earned her First Team All-Louisiana honors for the second year in a row.

She’s joined on the First Team by shortstop [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag], outfielder [autotag]Ciara Briggs[/autotag] and utlitily [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag]. On the Second Team, outfielder Ali Newland was the only Tiger who made the cut though [autotag]Raeleen Gutierrez[/autotag] earned an honorable mention at first base.

The Tigers are certainly poised for a changing of the guard after this season. Of these six players, only Berzon is set to return in 2025. There will be a lot of new pieces for coach [autotag]Beth Torina[/autotag], but she’ll hope to find a core as talented as this one.

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LSU softball’s Sydney Berzon earns All-American honors

Sydney Berzon was honored by multiple publications after a fantastic sophomore season.

LSU softball’s 2024 campaign, which began with a 24-0 record, came to a frustrating end in the Stanford Super Regional on Sunday. After taking Game 1, the Tigers dropped the final two as coach [autotag]Beth Torina[/autotag] is still seeking her first Women’s College World Series appearance since reaching three in a row from 2015-17.

However, not much of the blame for the way the season ended can be placed on [autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag]. Despite her Game 3 struggles against the Cardinal, Berzon is a major reason the Tigers reach the super regionals in the first place.

After earning NFCA All-American and Second Team All-SEC honors in 2023 as a true freshman, Berzon was even better as a sophomore this season. For her efforts, she’s been named an All-American by D1Softball and Softball America.

Berzon finished her sophomore campaign with a 1.78 ERA and a 20-9 record. She struck out 185 batters and walked just 46 while pitching more than 200 innings.

The LSU softball team has to replace a lot of veteran outgoing talent this coming offseason, but the return of Berzon as the top pitcher on the staff should ease that transition as the Tigers will seek to end their WCWS drought in 2025.

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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 drops a spot in latest national rankings after SEC tournament

The Tigers went 2-1 in the SEC tournament last week, but they still saw a slight drop in the polls entering the NCAA tournament.

Overall, it was a good week in Auburn, Alabama, for the LSU Tigers softball team.

Coach Beth Torina’s squad opened with a marathon against Alabama, surviving a 14-inning game in which [autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag] tossed more than 200 pitches. LSU’s winning ways continued into the quarterfinals when it knocked No. 1 seed Tennessee out of the tournament.

But that run ended in the semifinals against Missouri, and despite that showing, LSU ultimately fell a spot in both the USA TODAY/NFCA Coaches Poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings to No. 11 and No. 10, respectively.

Both are lower than the national seed the Tigers ultimately earned in the NCAA tournament at No. 9.

Hosting a regional for the second year in a row, LSU will open the postseason on Friday against Jackson State in Tiger Park.

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Photos from LSU softball’s SEC tournament win over No. 1 Tennessee

The Tigers won 2-1 to knock off the top seed at the tournament. Now, they’re moving on to the semifinals.

LSU is moving on to the semifinal round of the 2024 SEC softball tournament after surviving a 2-1 pitching battle in the quarterfinals against top-seeded Tennessee on Thursday.

What was supposed to be a morning game became an evening one as it was delayed seven hours due to weather. The Tigers scored one run in the first inning and no more until the fifth, but the pitching tandem of [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag] and [autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag], who tossed 208 pitches the day before, held up.

LSU now moves on to face either No. 4-seeded Arkansas or No. 5-seeded Missouri on Friday. In the meantime, here are the best photos from the win.

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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Photos from LSU softball’s walk-off win in 14th inning vs. Alabama in SEC tournament

The Tigers survived a marathon to walk it off against the Crimson Tide on Wednesday.

[autotag]LSU softball[/autotag] outlasted the Alabama Crimson Tide in one of the wildest SEC tournament games we’ve ever seen on Wednesday afternoon.

In the longest game by innings in tournament history, the No. 8-seeded Tigers survived in the 14th with a walk-off single from [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag]. LSU only had that opportunity, however, thanks to a legendary outing on the mound from [autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag].

She pitched all 14 innings, giving up just two earned runs on 14 hits while throwing a tournament-record 208 pitches. Now, LSU moves on to face the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Here are the best photos from the Tigers’ big win.

LSU softball wins 14-inning SEC tournament marathon against Alabama in walk-off fashion

The Tigers held on to win the longest game in SEC tournament history on a Taylor Pleasants walk-off.

In the longest game by innings in SEC tournament history, the No. 8-seeded LSU softball team held on against No. 9-seeded Alabama as [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] hit a walk-off single to deep center field in the 14th inning.

The Tigers won 3-2 and now advance to the quarterfinal round to face top-seeded Tennessee.

Alabama took control early in the game, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first inning off an RBI double, but LSU pitcher [autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag] settled in after that.

The issue was the lack of offensive support. In the first five innings, the Tigers managed just one hit, which came in the first. Finally, though, the bats woke up in the sixth.

LSU loaded the bases in the frame with two outs, and Alabama ultimately allowed it to tie the game after walking home a run and hitting a batter with a pitch the next at-bat.

The Tigers had a chance at a walk-off in the seventh, putting runners at the corners, but they ultimately stranded both on base. Alabama did the same with a pair of runners in the top of the eighth, and that brought the Tigers back up to bat again.

But hits were hard to come by in extras, and chances to score a run even harder. The dam didn’t break until the bottom of the 14th, when LSU turned in four hits. The final one came from Pleasants with the bases loaded and one out as the Tigers survived and advanced.

Berzon pitched an unthinkable 14 innings, tossing an SEC tournament-record 208 pitches. She allowed eight hits and six walks, but she only gave up the two earned runs in the first inning.

LSU will be back in action again on Thursday morning against the Volunteers in a game that’s set for 10 a.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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