Walking down the stairs of the LSU softball complex, there is a bar that cannot be avoided before exiting. The bar rests above the door to the field, marking the last thing the Tigers see before playing.
The bar contains two words that have become the mantra of the team. They are not only symbolic of the team’s past struggles, but of the lessons learned in an offseason unlike any other.
“Locked In.”
“We are all just locked in on a plan,” said junior outfielder A.J. Andrews. “We are focused on what we are going to do and what we are going to be and how we are going to get there.”
The two-word motto has become a central part of the team and can be seen almost everywhere. “Locked In” T-shirts are given out during games, and the words are found in every game program.
The motto came from a time of struggle, after the team’s 1-0 loss to UL-Lafayette that ended the Tigers’ 2013 season in their home stadium. Suddenly, a season containing more than 40 wins and an All-American selection for pitcher Rachele Fico had gone down the drain.
The last out of the game was perhaps most fatal, with senior infielder Allison Falcon striking out with the bases loaded and a chance to extend the season.
Falcon said she is better prepared for those situations under the new attitude of the team.
“That was a very pressure situation. The most pressure I’ve had on me as a collegiate athlete ever,” Falcon said. “I think that ‘Locked In’ really ties into having that pressure all the time. Taking every pitch seriously, taking no out off.”
The motto took on a whole new meaning during fall workouts, when U.S. Marines took over LSU practices. The Marines pushed the Tigers not only physically through an intense workout schedule, but also mentally with a new state of mind.
The Marines mindset coincided perfectly with the Tigers’ new message: the idea that a mission requires not only a singular effort, but different members of the team performing their own specific and respective jobs to be executed properly.
The team also utilizes a “flight school kill board,” which depicts logos of each team the Tigers have on their schedule. When LSU beats a team, it gets to put the logo on the other side of the board, similar to how a plane would carry the flags it has taken down.
Freshman pitcher Baylee Corbello sees the board as a reminder to stay on the target at hand and not to let anything else get in the way.
During each Marines drill, one player from a group was selected as a leader, meaning they’d wear a weighted vest and would only be able to cheer on their teams as they went through drills. One of the players chosen to be a leader was sophomore utility player Dylan Supak, and it was an experience she won’t soon forget.
“It was cool to see how even though there were leaders designated each time, that’s not always who the leader was,” Supak said. “It just showed leadership wasn’t just one person directing a group. It happens all the time. It comes from just little encouraging words.”
In a Feb. 15 game against George Washington, Andrews and senior outfielder Jacee Blades demonstrated LSU’s speed, leading the game off with hits and two stolen bases each. Two days later, sophomores Bianka Bell and Kellsi Kloss demonstrated the Tigers’ power, hitting back-to-back home runs in the third inning.
Those moments are examples of how each player brings her own talent. Supak said the “Locked In” mantra has taught them how special these talents can be combined.
“You have all the different pieces of the puzzle, you just have to put them together,” Supak said. “There are so many great parts to this team, but staying locked in and bringing them together, that’s going to be the fun part.”