The sting of defeat was visceral for LSU softball coach Beth Torina in Sunday’s postgame news conference, evident on her face and in her voice.
Her Tigers team had rebounded from a disappointing 2022 season to earn a No. 10 seed and host site in the tournament with a 40-15 record against the fourth toughest schedule in the nation.
And, yet, the Tigers fell just short, letting a seventh-inning lead slip away in a 9-8 loss to UL, their rival from down the road.
Torina made sure to compliment the Cajuns, who earned the right to advance to the super regional by beating LSU twice on its home field in one day. But Torina, without making excuses, also felt it was time to give both programs, and softball in Louisiana, its due.
The days of bitterness in the rivalry are over, Torina said, and its time the NCAA selection committee stops penciling in UL for a trip down Interstate 10 every year. The players and coaches from each program have a deep, mutual respect for each other
“The rivalry is from the constant pairing of these two teams and what it continues to do instead of building softball in the state, we should have the opportunity to have two teams in the (Women’s College) World Series from our state,” Torina said.
Torina would likely get some ‘Amens’ from Lafayette, which was hoping to host its own regional before being sent to LSU for the eighth time since the current format was implemented, and fourth time in the past six years. And she has a solution.
“We’re the two schools that have met the most in postseason play since the super-regional format in 2005,” she said. “At this point, we should see the 2s seeded 1-32. I understand the cost that goes with that, but we give everybody a level playing field and fair opportunity to compete against the best. I plan to be the president of the seed-the-twos-committee.”
If the committee needed any more evidence of the quality of softball in Louisiana, McNeese came one inning from a trip to the super regionals, where it would have been paired with UL in Lafayette. But the Cowgirls blew a 6-0 lead in the seventh inning to host Washington, which will host the Cajuns in Seattle this weekend.
Above a wish for better seeding structure, Torina ached for her team.
“This team did so many things right,” she said. “They were very talented. If our strength coach told them to run eight shuttles, they’d run nine. It just feels devastating for them. Obviously, we had some depth issues in a couple of spots that would have been better. We have a really young pitching staff. We had the ball in the hands of freshmen all day today, multiple freshmen.”
That won’t be the case next season. LSU loses three seniors, including power-hitting Georgia Clark and pitcher Ali Kilponen. The rest of the pitching staff returns intact as well as eight of nine position starters.
The return of transfer Hannah Carson will make the Tigers much stronger at catcher. She was injured in the first week and missed the season but will help nurture high school sensation Maci Bergeron, who struggled as a freshman.
All-American shortstop Taylor Pleasants is back along with hit machine Danieca Coffey. Torina will added the nation’s sixth best recruiting class, one of which — McKaela Walker — enrolled early and looks like the top candidate for second base.
Beyond that, the 2024 class commitments includes the No. 2 player in the nation, Jayden Heavener, a left-hander who will likely have an immediate impact in the circle.
“This team is incredibly strong moving forward,” Torina said. “We return a majority of the starting lineup. We bring in some strong freshmen, our pitching staff will gain from experience. There are seven seniors on next year’s team, a majority in the everyday lineup. We’ll have a ton of experience, a ton of fight.”
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