LSU’s three well-respected home venues — Tiger Stadium, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and Alex Box Stadium — are typically known for the advantage the home crowds bring to their respective teams. But LSU softball’s Tiger Park is an underrated gem.
“This is a tough place for visiting teams to come play,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “That’s made up by the awesome fans we have here at Tiger Park. We love being at home. We love playing in front of our crowds, and we love our Tiger fans.”
In their 20 seasons since the program was restarted in 1997, the Tigers have averaged 27.3 wins in Tiger Park per season and 5.4 losses in the stretch. LSU has amassed a 545-108 record at home — or 83.5 percent of its games. This is comparable to LSU football’s home winning percentage of 84.7 during the same time frame.
Tiger softball has recorded only one season in which they dropped double digit games, an 11-defeat campaign in 2014. But this season, the Tigers are three losses away from tying the most losses at home since 1997.
So far in 2016, the team is 26-8 with a three-game set against Washington and a possible NCAA Regional left to play at home. If it drops a game to Washington and slips in the regional, the result would be a second season with double digit losses in the past three years.
LSU sophomore pitcher Carley Hoover said when the Tigers do lose a game at home, it comes as a surprise.
“Even our losses [at Tiger Park] are monumental with the fans and the energy,” Hoover said. “It’s really hard to lose in our own park, and to not play well in our own park. It’s just really fun to be here.”
During the 20 seasons, LSU has hosted a NCAA Regional eight times and is vying for a ninth, after a decent 2016 season.
Throughout the eight regionals, the Tigers have reached the regional finals in seven times, and they have come away winners in three. After hosting and winning a NCAA Regional in 2015, the team hosted the first NCAA Super Regional in program history.
After the dominant 38-5 home season in 2015 and LSU’s fourth Women’s College World Series appearance, the Tigers attendance grew by nearly 13 percent in 2016.
“Our fans are awesome. Just the same thing every week, we try to win the crowd and keep ourselves in the game as well,” said senior infielder Bianka Bell.
In addition to the fans, the repetitions in the park allow players to develop a familiarity with the field, said junior infielder Sahvanna Jaquish.
“It always gives us such a great advantage,” Jaquish said. “We know how many steps it is until we get to the [outfield] fence or until we have to dive. Just really chemistry with the field is always a great thing.”