The historically hot offense of LSU softball has had countless iconic home run celebrations through the years, and with six starters graduating, there could be another trend for the 2025 season.
Home run and hit celebrations have made softball and baseball exciting beyond the game of play, and through the years, the Tigers have had some pretty exciting celebrations for their home runs.
In 2013, the player who hit a home run would jump on home plate, and everyone would hit the player’s head. It was simple, but marked the beginning of the LSU softball home run celebrations.
This celebration would stay the same until 2016, when the team decided their mantra was “can’t beat crazy.” The 2016 team would pull out all the stops in creating chaos for the other team, wearing crazy hats and masks in the dugout. Adding to this theme, the team would do the “crazy fingers” when they hit a home run or got a clutch hit.
Crazy fingers were the softball celebration of choice until 2019, when Amanda Sanchez joined the team. Sanchez came in, and it seemed the hype increased again.
When senior Amber Serrett hit the first home run of the season, she brought back the crazy fingers, but it wasn’t long after that, the players started making twisting gestures with their hands before stomping on home plate after a home run.
That celebration did not last long because in 2020, the player that hit a home run would stomp on the plate, and the rest of the team would pick a foot up and start hitting the home run hitter’s head.
Georgia Clark was the first player to hit a home run in 2020, and she pulled out this celebration immediately.
2021 did not have a home run celebration due to the rules in place for COVID-19.
In 2022, the Tigers debuted the home run chain. When a player hits a home run, they step on home plate with their celebration of choice, and then they are crowned with a chain. The chain has big purple links and the LSU letters attached. The player that hits a home run is crowned and they pass it to whoever hits the next bomb.
The chain was still used in 2023, but the players upped the ante again.
In addition to the home run chain, the player who hits a home run steps onto home plate and turns to trust-fall into their teammates’ arms. Junior shortstop Taylor Pleasants hit the first home run of the 2023 season with a walk-off against Utah.
Pleasants fell back into her teammate’s arms to celebrate and got the home run chain afterward.
The Tigers softball team was close with the national championship gymnastics team at LSU and the gymnasts found a way to pass on their love through the softball team’s enthusiasm for celebration.
In 2024, LSU gymnastics had a crown they would pass around when someone got a perfect 10, similar to the home run chain for softball. Gymnastics shared their crown idea with softball, where it was eventually awarded after a home run.
Similar to the 2024 season, the crown had a celebration for stepping on the plate also. The player that hit the home run would step on home plate and salute to the team as if they were the judges, effectively scoring a perfect 10 for the crown.
Senior first baseman Raeleen Gutierrez was the first to show off the celebration and become the recipient of the crown.
With the 2025 softball season looming on the horizon, it is to be seen how LSU softball celebrates home runs, but with so many players graduating and the team focusing more on their speed than power, the celebrations could be different than anything seen before.
