The LSU softball team held its official media day Monday, as coach Beth Torina and some of the team’s key players fielded questions regarding the upcoming 2014 season.
LSU is coming off a season that saw it reach the top 10 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and a Southeastern Conference West division title. The Tigers struggled in the postseason, however, losing two games to UL-Lafayette and were eliminated in their own regional.
“Last season of course ended not at all how we wanted it to,” Torina said. “My commitment increased to these girls. I feel with this offseason, I just want to make sure that something like that never happens to us again.”
The Tigers will begin play this season against the Texas Longhorns Thursday night at Tiger Park. Texas reached the Women’s College World Series last season and brings back veteran hitters such as seniors Taylor Thom and Brejae Washington.
Andrews honored with preseason awards
Monday afternoon, the SEC announced junior outfielder A.J. Andrews as a 2014 Preseason All-SEC selection. The honor comes less than a week after Andrews was selected for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List.
Playing as the team’s lead-off hitter, Andrews led all Tigers last season with a .359 batting average and a .423 on-base percentage. Her play earned her 2013 All-SEC First Team and NFCA All-America Third Team selections.
Torina said Andrews has a good deal of talent around her and doesn’t need to take on all the pressure to perform the awards may bring. 
“She’s got so much protection and so many things around her that will help her that she doesn’t need to feel like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders,” Torina said. “She just needs to go out and be A.J. Andrews. That’s how she got the awards so hopefully she’ll do that again.” 
Torina returns from offseason of personal change
Torina began her press conference announcing the birth and adoption of her two children in the offseason. Torina adopted a girl in the summer and then gave birth to a second girl in January. 
The new mother of two said although the offseason was crazy, she and her husband feel blessed for what they’ve been given.
“These are very exciting times for my husband Nick and I,” Torina said. “The most exciting part for me is that I have been a mother of sorts to these 20 girls for the past two years. It is so exciting to see our players interacting with my two little girls.”

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Charles Champagne

LSU senior outfielder A.J Andrews talks about the upcoming season and the teams expectations Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 to local media stations.