State of Program: LSU Softball 2024

INFIELD

LSU returns its entire starting infield, Georgia Clark did have starts at first base, but ended last season as LSU's DH. LSU's infield has a great dynamic between veteran starters and young talent that may not get starts this year but will be a part of the future lineups.

First Base (last year stats AVG/HR/OPS)

1.) Raeleen Gutierrez SR (.285/1HR/.715)
2.) Tori Edwards FR
3.) Kelley Lynch SR (WASHINGTON .276/3HR/.729)

Raeleen Gutierrez is the returning starter for LSU and had a pretty solid year for LSU. She doesn't have your prototypical first-basemen numbers, but she was solid. Only 14 strikeouts in 54 GS. She is seen as a defensive first player, but she had 7 errors last season, which came in second on the team. What sticks out about Gutierrez is her .227AVG and.546OPS in SEC play. Only 1 error in SEC play so you can see her defense got better throughout the season but her hitting left a lot to be desired. Torina usually likes to role with her vets early in the year so I can see Gutierrez getting the start somewhere lower in the lineup. Tori Edwards has been a big talk in the off-season, from her 405 lb deadlift, to Torina mentioning her as a freshman to watch in a podcast. Edwards was highly recruited out of high school and was named to the high school All-American game back in the summer. She provides more power than Gutierrez and I am intrigued how this battle plays out. All I know is that Edwards will get opportunities to hit and work her way into the lineup. Kelley Lynch is a grad transfer from Washington where she pitched and played some first base. Lynch is a solid all around player, her offense does not stick out but she is an experienced bat who will probably fight for playing time both in the circle and the lineup.

Second Base

1.) Karli Petty SR (.287/4HR/.765)
2.) Sydney Peterson SO (Out for the 2023 season)
3.) McKaela Walker SO (6 GS, .267/0HR/.876)

Karli Petty is the returning starter and she produced in her first year as a tiger. Finished the year third on the team in RBIs. Karli is in a position where LSU has needed some stability over the last few years. She was consistent but tended to strike out too much. She led the team in strikeouts. However, I think she a hold on the position for now. Sydney Peterson was the starter in 2022, but last year suffered a season-ending injury. She is more of a defensive-leaning player, and she provides good depth at the position. Mckaela Walker was an early enrollee at LSU last year. She is a talented player who has gotten some at bats, interested to see what her role will be this year.

Shortstop

1.) Taylor Pleasants SR (.346/8HR/.984)
2.) Sierra Daniel FR
3.) Maddox McKee FR

Taylor Pleasants is the incumbent and that will not change. One of the leaders of this team and their best offensive player. Last year she dealt with an injury and was forced to slap hit for a good portion of SEC play. Hopefully, Pleasants will have a fully healthy year and compete for SEC Player of the Year. She'll be right in the three hole where she's been most of her career. Sierra Daniel and Maddox McKee are both very talented freshmen. We probably won't see much of them this year with Pleasants holding down shortstop, but in the future, I would not be surprised to see them getting opportunities at second and shortstop.

Third Base
1.) Danieca Coffey SR (.392/2HR/.969)
2.) Abigail Savoy SO
3.) Madyson Manning FR

Danieca Coffey returns at third base and atop LSU's lineup. She has become a great player for LSU and is a lock at third base. She led the tigers in stolen bases, triples, and was second in walks. She has also gotten so much better defensively at third base. She is one of the cogs in the machine, an excellent player. Abigail Savoy and Madyson Manning will both provide good depth in the infield, but I don't think they will see much time on the field this year.

Catcher
1.) Hannah Carson SR
2.) Maci Bergeron SO (.214/1HR/.609)

Hannah Carson is returning as LSU's starting catcher. She started at the beginning of the year before having a season-ending injury, but she is now back and I think she will be the starting catcher in most games. She's a veteran player and I think she will be solid behind the plate. Maci Bergeron took over as the primary catcher with Carson out and had an up-and-down freshman year. I think the talent is there for Bergeron but for now, she is in a better role as the backup catcher. She'll still get starts here and there, but I think next year is the year where she'll have an impact on this offense. With both Carson and Bergeron back, it will allow for Newland to fully focus on playing the outfield.

[PITCHERS]

No excuses for Beth this year. I love her at LSU, but her goodwill has run out. The team has to produce this year. I think they have to host a Super for her to survive.

I think they have to make the WCWS.

Beth is a consistent coach and does a good job of maintaining the status quo and being relevant in a very tough conference.
She should be commended for that.
I still think she's too loyal to staff but coaches that are like that will live and die that way in the coaching fraternity.
I do think the veteran lineup and experience will give them a chance to go as far as they can, it will all depend on the super regional matchup assuming they can get out of a regional with ULL.
Biggest concern is on the mound. Berzon will be the ace but she needs to take that next step for LSU to have a chance to make it to WCWS. Would love to have Heavener on this team but that will have to wait until next year.
In the grand scheme of things I don't think Woodward will get rid of Torina as long as she keeps on at her current pace.
Players seem to like playing for her and it shows as players stay with her in this portal era.
On another note Torina strikes me as the type to eventually take a less stressful job somewhere along the way. She's flirted with other jobs in the past.

In my opinion, Beth has upgraded the softball program in almost every way. However, quite a few other SEC members have poured more resources into softball, leaving us in the middle of the pack.