LSU softball is kicking off its fall exhibition Friday at 5 p.m. in Tiger Park against Co-Lin.
The Tigers are returning seven seniors, five being graduate students, so their lineup isn’t expected to change a whole lot.
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LSU’s infield will remain the exact same with the exception of pitchers and catchers. Raeleen Gutierrez will return at first base, Karli Petty at second, Taylor Pleasants at shortstop and Danieca Coffey at third.
The pitcher’s mound will see new faces in the 2024 season since former starter Ali Kilponen graduated.
Sophomore pitcher Sydney Berzon will return after consistently seeing the field her freshman season.
The 6 foot New York native finished the 2023 season with a 1.91 ERA after pitching 143 innings. As a true freshman, Berzon pitched the most games and finished the season with a 14-8 record.
Assisting Berzon will be graduate student Kelley Lynch, who transferred from Washington. Lynch is a dual-threat pitcher, meaning that she is expected to be in the batting lineup too.
She is coming to LSU with a career record of 308 strikeouts and 117 hits, including 20 home runs.
Lynch aided Washington’s 2023 team to its 15th Women’s College World Series appearance. She ended the series with a 9-3 record on the rubber and a .178 opposing batting average in 77.2 innings pitched.
The last duel-threat pitcher that LSU had was Shelbi Sunseri, who played from 2017-2022. During her time at LSU, the Tigers made four NCAA Tournament appearances and four NCAA Super Regional appearances.
The Berzon-Lynch duo is expected to be lethal to opposing teams, and could possibly lead the Tigers to another World Series appearance.
Sophomore Emma Strood, junior Raelin Chaffin and redshirt junior Emilee Casanova are also returning as pitchers and utility players.
After enduring a season-ending injury in the 2023 season, Hannah Carson is expected to return as the Tiger’s starting catcher, allowing Ali Newland to reclaim her position in leftfield.
Newland will be accompanied by two-time Golden Glove winner Ciara Briggs in center and McKenzie Redoutey in right.
With a solid defense and pitching staff, the Tigers shouldn’t have trouble keeping opposing teams from scoring.
With their own batting lineup, home plate should truly feel like home.
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Coffey is expected to stay in the leadoff spot, followed by Briggs then Pleasants in the three-hole.
The cleanup spot is up for grabs now that Georgia Clark graduated.
Newland, Redoutey, Petty and Gutierrez will remain staples in the Tigers’ lineup. Last year, the four were consistently in the middle of the lineup and were solid producers for the Tiger’s offense.
The lineup has no holes in it. One through nine can execute and are capable of producing runs.
With the talent and experience on the team, LSU shouldn’t have any problems going undefeated in its fall season.
Although the Tigers haven’t made a WCWS appearance in a while, they’re expected to come back strong this season, and fans should be excited to watch what they have in store.
