The LSU softball head coaching vacancy has been filled – for the second time this month.
A week after Alabama softball head coach Patrick Murphy backed out of the position, LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva tabbed Florida International University’s Beth Torina on Monday afternoon to take the reins of the program.
Torina compiled a 129-111 record at FIU, including a 38-21 showing in 2010 en route to her second Sun Belt Coach of the Year distinction. That year Torina led the Lady Panthers to the school’s second NCAA Tournament and notched their first ever tournament victory.
The 2010 season also featured a win against a 4th ranked Florida team, the school’s first victory against a Top 5 team.
Under her tutelage, Torina saw 10 players receive a total of 14 All-Sun Belt honors. Among these recipients was standout Ashley McClain, who this year earned her second consecutive First-Team All-Sun Belt and First-Team All-South Region honors as well as 2010 Player of the Year recognition.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Beth to LSU and for her to take the leadership reins of our softball program,” Alleva said in an Athletic Department news release. “She brings great passion, energy and character to our program and will wear the purple and gold with pride.”
In addition to her four years as FIU head coach, Torina also served as head assistant at the University of Houston for six seasons, where she helped guide the Cougars to a 2007 Conference USA championship as well as two NCAA Regional berths.
A former University of Florida star, Torina also has experience as a recruiting coordinator at the University of Houston. Among her top recruits was Angel Shamblin, who went on to twice win Conference USA Pitcher of the Year accolades as well as a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American award.
A press conference introducing Torina will be held Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Athletic Administration Building.
Controversy simmered last week after Patrick Murphy accepted the softball head coaching post, only to return to Alabama a few days later. In an interview with the Birmingham News, Murphy cited a change of heart as his reason for leaving, stating that assistant Alyson Habetz, who was to join him at LSU, felt the same way.
Murphy also said that emotions were running high after Alabama was ousted from the Women’s College World Series, around the time Alleva contacted him.
“He throws everything at you, and it’s like you go from the lowest of lows to like, ‘Damn, somebody really wants to do something for me.’ It just kind of snowballed,” Murphy recalled in the interview. “I made an emotional decision, and now I regret it.”
Torina’s hiring comes a month after the close of the storied career of long-time LSU head coach Yvette Girouard.
Girouard, whose tenure at LSU goes back 11 seasons, assembled a 526-171-1 record during her time at the University, including a 40-18 season in 2011. The 31-year collegiate-coaching veteran won 14 Louisiana Coach of the Year awards, including five at LSU.
 
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Contact Michael Harb at [email protected]