BATON ROUGE – The LSU softball team took its first steps toward the 2010 season with a pair of spirited two-hour workouts Tuesday at Tiger Park.
“The excitement and environment was off the charts during our first day of practice,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “It was a typical first day where you have to get the kinks out and knock the rust off. I was very impressed with our team chemistry that continues to development. It’s going to be a team trait that I feel will pay off for us in the long run.”
The Tigers return 15 letterwinners highlighted by eight position starters and four pitchers from a squad that went 34-18-1 a season ago.
Centerfielder Kirsten Shortridge fueled the offense with a .426 batting average on a team-high 80 hits en route to All-SEC First-Team, NFCA All-South Region First-Team and NFCA All-America Third-Team accolades. She ranked inside the SEC’s Top 7 in hits (80), batting average (.426), multi-hit games (26) and stolen bases (26).
Shortridge also totaled a 5-4 record with a 3.21 ERA over 15 appearances in the circle as the Keller, Texas product picked up marquee victories over Women’s College World Series participants Alabama and Arizona State.
Right fielder Rachel Mitchell returns for her senior season after driving home a team-best 38 RBIs on a .306 batting average in 2009. She recorded 23 of her 38 RBIs along with posting a .479 on-base percentage in SEC action to rank sixth and ninth in those categories, respectively.
Ashley Langoni, Juliana Santos and Anissa Young are looking to build on their stellar freshmen campaigns. The trio combined for 21 of the team’s 31 home runs last season and produced 43 percent (92-of-214) of LSU’s RBIs. Santos notched All-SEC Freshman and NFCA All-South Region First Team honors, while Langoni secured a spot on the NCAA Tempe Regional All-Tournament Team.
Cody Trahan went 12-7 with a 2.48 ERA and fired 11 complete games to earn a NFCA All-South Region First-Team selection. She ranked in the SEC’s Top 10 in ERA (2.46), strikeouts (141) and opponent batting average (.217) as eight of her 12 victories came against league opponents.
“We’re never going to rest on our laurels and are expecting big from this team,” Girouard said. “One of the things that make us as coaches excited about where this team can go is that they always try to do the right thing. We’re looking to get back on the same page and set a strong tone this week at practice.”
LSU starts the 2010 season at the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational against North Carolina, DePaul and host Texas, a trio of 2009 NCAA Tournament squads. The Tigers compiled an impressive 441-137-1 record and are sixth nationally since Girouard took over the program prior to the 2001 season.