Take a bit of the old, mix in a lot of the new and add a sprinkle of energy from a second-year head coach and you’ve got the recipe for the 2013 LSU softball team.
In coach Beth Torina’s second season at LSU, the No. 8 Tigers (40-11, 15-6 Southeastern Conference) have put together one of their best seasons in recent years, relying on a proven workhorse from the pitching circle and new faces in the batting lineup.
Senior pitcher Rachele Fico is the lifeblood of the Tigers. She has been everything she was expected to be after an All-American junior season in 2012.
Fico pitches every other game for LSU and ranks second in the SEC in innings pitched (201.1), strikeouts (212) and wins (24).
Fico garnered SEC Pitcher of the Week twice this season, took Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week once, was taken as the first overall selection in the National Pro Fastpitch draft and is a finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year — the most prestigious award in collegiate softball.
“She’s a special player and deserves every award she receives,” Torina said after Fico pitched two complete-game victories against defending national champion Alabama to win National Player of the Week.
Fico has been dominating from the LSU pitching circle for a while now, and her performance during her senior 2013 campaign was somewhat expected. But the Tigers have received a much-needed offensive facelift from a new addition who has quickly established herself as one of the best hitters in recent LSU history.
Freshman shortstop Bianka Bell has infused power and consistency into an offense that at times looked anemic during the Tigers’ run to the Women’s College World Series in 2012.
Bell leads the team in four different statistical categories, including home runs (11), RBIs (45), total bases (91) and slugging percentage (.607). She has been a key factor in raising the Tigers’ team batting average by more than 60 points and almost tripling their home run total from 2012.
“We go as Bianka Bell goes,” Torina said in March. “She puts so much pressure on an opponent, and as long as we get her to the plate, we know we’re one swing away from winning or getting back into a game.”
Bell has combined with two other freshmen, Sandra Simmons and Kellsi Kloss, to account for 20 of Tigers’ 38 home runs this season and 95 of their 231 RBIs.
“Just the way the freshmen come up and attack — the way they swing hard and swing fearless — I think that goes throughout the whole lineup,” Torina said in February.
With the regular season now finished, LSU will likely look to Fico and the trio of freshmen for a return trip to the Women’s College World Series.
The Tigers already secured their first SEC West title since 2007. That was also the season LSU won its last SEC Tournament, and with a No. ? seed in this year’s tournament, which begins Wednesday, the Tigers are one of the top candidates to take back the crown.
But the Tigers’ sights are set even higher. Torina said after getting a taste of the Women’s College World series last season, no one on the team will be satisfied without a return trip.
