Tag: Taylor Pleasants

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 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 softball run-rules Southern Illinois to advance to super regionals

LSU advances to a super regional for the 10th time in program history and first since 2021.

LSU’s breezy run through the Baton Rouge Regional continued on Sunday. The Tigers shut out Southern Illinois 9-0 in run-rule fashion as they took the opening game of the regional final and advanced to the super regionals next weekend.

[autotag]Raeleen Gutierrez[/autotag] got the scoring started in the bottom of the first, connecting on a two-out RBI double to right field as LSU led 1-0 early. [autotag]Karli Petty[/autotag] added to that in the second with an RBI single with two runners on base.

After a sacrifice flyout from [autotag]Ciara Briggs[/autotag], [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] really broke the game wide open with a three-run homer as the Tigers put up a five-spot in the frame to go up 6-0.

The flood continued for LSU in the third, with [autotag]Maci Bergeron[/autotag] hitting a two-run bomb followed by a solo shot from Petty. [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag] wrapped up the one-hit complete game in the fifth, earning a shutout win while striking out six batters.

Now, LSU advances to the super regional round for the 10th time in program history and first since 2021, where it will either travel to face No. 8 national seed Stanford or host Cal State Fullerton in Baton Rouge.

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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 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 clinches series win against Liberty in Game 2

The Tigers sealed a win in their final regular season series on Saturday night.

The LSU softball team lost four-straight series to conclude SEC play, but it’ll head into the SEC tournament with some momentum after it secured a victory in the final series of the regular season in Game 2 against Liberty.

The Tigers jumped out to a big lead early and ultimately held on to win 9-4.

LSU was the first to strike in the bottom of the opening frame when [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] drew a bases-loaded walk. However, that’s all the Tigers managed to reap from the opportunity.

Liberty evened things up with a solo shot in the top of the second, but a [autotag]Raeleen Gutierrez[/autotag] single in the bottom of the inning plated a pair of runs and gave LSU the lead back.

It extended that lead the following inning after an RBI single from [autotag]Ciara Briggs[/autotag] and a wild pitch that allowed [autotag]Hannah Carson[/autotag] to score. The Flames managed to cut into that deficit a bit with another solo home run in the fourth, but it was one step forward, two steps back again.

Pleasants and [autotag]Karli Petty[/autotag] led off the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back homers, extending the lead to 7-2. The Tigers added to that lead further in the fifth with a groundout from Pleasants, which allowed them to score a run.

Liberty attempted a rally in the sixth, scoring a pair of runs on a two-RBI double, but Carson got a run back for LSU on an RBI double of her own.

[autotag]Raelin Chaffin[/autotag], who pitched the final 1.1 innings after [autotag]Kelley Lynch[/autotag] earned the win, closed things out with three straight outs in the top of the seventh.

The Tigers will go for the sweep in Game 3, which will be on Sunday at 5 p.m. CT.

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