When it comes to getting hit by pitches, no Southeastern Conference softball team does it better than LSU.
The Tigers lead the SEC in that category, getting hit 47 times this season. The closest team to the Tigers, No. 1 Alabama, has been hit just 33 times.
But LSU coach Yvette Girouard said despite the numbers, her team doesn’t crowd the plate or lean into pitches.
“We just try to emphasize not shying away from it,” Girouard said. “If you’re going to get hit, get hit.”
The Tigers have clearly not been shying away from pitches this season. The team’s total through 33 games already beats totals in all but two years from 1997 to 2010.
LSU players were plunked by 47 pitches in 2001 and a program-record 80 times last season. This season’s team is on pace to be hit nearly 77 times.
“It’s kind of a weird thing now that we are getting hit,” Girouard said. “We’re not trying to get hit, but we don’t back away from it.”
Players reaching base via hit by pitch doesn’t always translate to post season success. In 2001, the Tigers won a school-record 59 games and the SEC championship. LSU also reached the Women’s College World Series and finished third.
But despite having 80 hit by pitches in 2010, the Tigers failed to advance out of the NCAA Regional tournament, falling to Texas A&M.
Girouard said players being hit can cut the production of some bigger hitters who get more extra-base hits.
One such hitter, junior first baseman Anissa Young, is no stranger to getting clipped, as she has been hit 46 times in her career. She said she has a black and blue reminder of each one.
“I get hit in the same spots,” Young said. “I’ve had an ongoing bruise all season that hasn’t gone away yet.”
Young leads the team, being hit 14 times this season. She ranks No. 2 nationally in that category, behind Oklahoma State’s Mariah Gearhart.  
Getting hit has been a trend in Young’s career. She broke the LSU single-season record in 2010 after being struck 21 times. She also holds the LSU career record, which she broke Feb. 18 against Oklahoma State after being hit for the 36th time.
Young said her high totals still surprise her.
“I feel like I stay off the plate most of the time,” Young said. “But you just wear it. If it’s coming at you, wear it. That’s what we preach here.”
Even though some collegiate pitchers can throw faster than 70 miles per hour, Young said she tries to hide the pain every time she gets hit.
“I’m used to it,” Young said. “I just wear it, bite my lip, count to 10 and move on.”
 
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