If it wasn’t true before, it’s true now — the LSU softball team plagued by poor offense is a thing of the past.
Where a team seemingly allergic to offense once played, an up and down powerful lineup now stands.
No. 12 LSU (19-5, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) took two of three from Mississippi State in the opening weekend of SEC play with an impressive display of power that was practically non-existent for the Tigers in 2012.
On Sunday, the Tigers took game three of the series on home runs from four separate players, driving in eight runs en route to a comfortable 9-2 victory.
In game one of the series Friday, the Tigers were far from comfortable through a 14-inning marathon but managed a 1-0 win on the heels of a solo home run from sophomore A.J. Andrews.
LSU had five home runs over the weekend, which raised its team total to 22, almost twice the number it had all of last season.
“This team is very talented offensively, and at times I think they have underachieved,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “This is what they are capable of all the time.”
One similar characteristic of both the 2012 and 2013 versions of the Tigers is dominant pitching from its ace. Senior pitcher Rachele Fico completed two gems, pitching all 21 innings of both the Tigers’ wins in the series.
Fico tied an SEC record, striking out 22 batters while pitching the entire 14-inning shutout against the Bulldogs on Friday. She hurled more than 320 combined pitches in her two outings, giving up only one earned run all weekend.
“I’m always ready to pitch whenever my name is called upon,” Fico said. “I’ll throw as long as I can for my team. I’ll do everything I can to keep them in it. I’m confident that they will score for me if I give them the chance to do it.”
Fico’s performance comes as little surprise with her All-America honors from last season, but the Tigers’ hitting proved that predicting their future performance based off of last season’s results would be a mistake.
The only people unfazed by the drastic increase in LSU’s offensive production seemed to be the Tigers themselves.
“This team is extremely talented,” Torina said. “They have a ton of power. Some of these freshmen are just very, very good hitters, and I think you’re going to see them continue to improve as they get more confident and figure it out more and more.”
One of those freshmen, Bianka Bell, gave LSU its early advantage Friday with a three-run home run in the first inning. Bell drove her third homer of the season into left field on a two-strike pitch from Mississippi State pitcher Alison Owen.
Bell’s dinger sparked a barrage of Tiger home runs off Owen, including fellow freshman Sandra Simmons’ two-run shot in the fourth. Juniors Tammy Wray and Allison Falcon also put balls out of the park Sunday, contributing to LSU’s victory.
LSU now returns to Baton Rouge for 10 consecutive home games, beginning with a midweek matchup against Nicholls on Wednesday. After more than three weeks since playing in their home park, the Tigers said they will be glad to finally be back in front of a friendly crowd.
“This has been a grind this last month and a half,” Torina said. “It’s not like we’ve been playing just anybody. We’ve played a who’s who list of teams around the country, so it will be a huge relief to be at home all week.”
