LSU softball took the all-time series over Florida with a 2025 series win that was full of drama from the very beginning.
The last weekend of regular season softball at Tiger Park was full of the usual drama that ensues between the Tigers and the Gators. LSU won just one of six games throughout its two weeks in Texas, and then was mercy ruled to begin the series against Florida.
But the Bayou Bengals love to face adversity and prove everyone wrong, and this series was no exception. This series taught us a lot about this team, including their abilities to build and keep momentum, rally together and stay relentless.
Building and Keeping Momentum
The momentum was completely sucked out of the Tigers their first weekend in Texas, and no matter what they did the second weekend, it just wasn’t a great trip to Texas for anyone in purple and gold.
LSU squandered again in Game 1 against Florida. It fell big time to the Gators in six innings of mercy ruling softball.
Something clicked for LSU in Game 2 that built the momentum for the Tigers, and that something had everything to do with Sydney Berzon.
Berzon is universally considered the ace of the LSU pitching staff, and her having some out of character games was the nail in the coffin for this team. Head coach Beth Torina has given her high praise all season, and she never missed a beat in giving Berzon some grace after the Texas series.
“She is grinding through some of everyone in the world being prepared for her, some of her own perfectionism, some of just the grind of being the ace day in, day out, having the bulk of the innings,” Torina said.
Following this press conference, Berzon’s next outing would be stellar. She shut down one of the most potent offenses she’s faced all season. Berzon’s outing would be a big part in electrifying this team for the rest of this series.
When she shut down the Gators in Game 2, there was never another doubt in the mind of the Tiger athletes that they couldn’t overcome Florida to take the series.
Torina said Berzon put in more work than ever after her rough appearances in Texas. She is still the same player she was before; she just hit some bumps in the road.
“I think the one thing that is not lost on [Berzon] is she is working,” Torina said. “She is out there competing, giving us every single ounce of what she has every day.”
Once LSU grabbed this momentum their ace provided, the offense electrified to send the Gators back home wanting.
If this is the last bump in the road that one of the biggest key players in purple and gold faces, the Tigers are golden.
Rallying Together
At the beginning of the season, this team showed its youth in some tough moments. They didn’t seem to gel until a few weeks into the season, and with the big losses in Texas, it seemed that they were never really together.
When this team is struggling, it never looks like any player is searching to be a hero. They try to work walks to pass the bat to the next person. This is fine when there aren’t any hits, but it becomes so much of a problem that they end up getting into holes they can’t dig themselves out of.
Against Florida, this team didn’t do that. Each player stepped up big when LSU needed them to. From senior McKenzie Redoutey to freshman Tori Edwards, this team stepped up big when they needed to.
Something clicked for this team, and they came together more than ever in the latter part of the series versus the Gators. The Tigers responded to their loss in Game 1 and took it to heart, and they remembered it going into Games 2 and 3.
If this team continues to play like this, they might have officially gotten hot at the right time.
Staying Relentless
This team doesn’t get complacent. They aren’t satisfied with winning by one run. They want to put it away early. Obviously this doesn’t happen every time a team takes a field, someone has to get out to keep the game moving, but this specific Tigers team never gets complacent.
LSU never seems to set their cruise; it’s all gas and no breaks for this team. If they work for an inch from another team, they force a mile into their hands.
Florida didn’t give the Bayou Bengals the second game of the series. LSU had to earn it, and it was enough to give it the momentum to come alive and run-rule the Gators in the third game.
This team gets hungry and stays hungry. Their lack of complacency in this team will be a key asset in their postseason run.
LSU softball has recreated their brand this season, and this series against Florida showed that this brand is just as strong as the ones of the past.
Continuing to build on this will be the most crucial part of the season for the Tigers. They will try to continue proving everyone wrong in the last weekend of SEC play as they take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
