On paper going into last season LSU looked poised to make a serious run at a national championship but things didn’t work out that way with the Tigers ending the season with a 42-17 overall record including 13-11 in the SEC. LSU exited the NCAA Tournament earlier then expected in the Regional Round being eliminated by in state rival Louisiana Lafayette.
It seems like there magic number statistically for LSU last season was three. They finished third in the SEC last season in team batting (.312 BA), pitching ERA (2.09 ERA) and fielding percentage (.975). With most of the team returning those numbers should be similar for this season.
One of the biggest off season changes for LSU was the departure of long time LSU assistant coach Lindsay Leftwich leaving after 12 years at LSU to become the head coach at North Carolina State. Over those 12 years Leftwich had been involved with all aspects of their program including defense, hitting, recruiting, video scouting and camps.
LSU Head coach Torina hired Bryce Neal as an assistant coach to fill the position left open with the departure of Leftwich. Neal comes from Louisville where he also was an assistant coach. Neal also previously oversaw the offensive and defensive development at Bucknell and was a volunteer coach at Arizona State prior to that.
LSU finished last season with a .312 team batting average with 44 home runs and 296 RBIs. They were in next to last place with home runs hit in the SEC. While the team’s pitching had a 2.09 ERA.
The Tigers have some key losses to deal with for this year including, Ali Kilpone, Savannah Stewart and Georgia Clark. Kilpone had a 13-7 record with a 2.25 ERA. Clark led the team last season with 14 home runs and 46 RBI’s. Clark was also team leader both on the field and in the dugout and will be missed this season.
LSU did add some new players to the team including, pitcher/infielder Kelly Lynch of Washington and Oklahoma State pitcher Tatum Clopton.
The Tigers have a long list of returning players, Danieca Coffey, Karli Petty, Taylor Pleasants, Hannah Carson, Raeleen Gutierrez, McKenzie Redoutey and Ciara Briggs, who should help the team be on the winning side of a lot of games this season.
Besides Lynch and Clopton LSU returns Sydney Berzon, Emilee Casanova and Raelin Chaffin who will be sharing in the pitching duties.
Hopefully this year for their fans LSU will play up to their full potential come tournament time.
Big Yellow Balls 