WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, SportsNo. 22 LSU Softball holds annual Media Day

BATON ROUGE – The LSU softball program played host to its annual media Day Tuesday at Tiger Park. Head coach Beth Torina previewed the upcoming season, and took questions from the media for approximately 30 minutes.

Following Torina's address, a quintet of players which included Simone Heyward, Ashley Langoni, Brittany Mack, Morgan Russell and Tammy Wray met inside the locker room with the media for one-on-one interviews.

LSU is three days from opening the 2012 campaign and playing host to the Tiger Classic. The Tigers usher in the next chapter of their storied history under first-year coach Beth Torina Friday versus Penn State. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. from Tiger Park. LSU also has match-ups slated against No. 15 Michigan and Louisiana Tech on opening weekend.

The Tigers are scheduled to play 20 games against Top 25 competition in 2012, including 10 contests versus five teams that appeared in the 2011 Women's College World Series.

Fans can follow LSU softball using social media at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and @lsu_softball on Twitter. Season tickets can be purchased for $75 at www.LSUtix.net

HEAD COACH BETH TORINA

Opening statement …
"Thank you so much for coming today. As an outsider coming to this university, it's so easy to see what a privilege it is to be a part of LSU. I think the best thing about this 2012 season is that we have 22 young women that understand this privilege. They really are out here every single day playing for the LSU on the front of their jersey and not the name on the back. I think that's rare to find a group of young women that are capable of that, but I truly believe we have that this year here at LSU."

 "Before I even start talking about the 2012 season, I would like to talk about Coach (Yvette) Girouard and everything that she has done for this program and what she has built. It's through her efforts that we're standing in one of the nation's top facilities and one of the best places to play college softball. It's no question that this is done by all of her effort and the efforts of the staff previous to our current staff. I want to thank her for giving us these 22 young women. This team was selected 100 percent by her, and I love them like they were my own. We thank her every day for everything that she's done for this program."

"I also want to thank her for giving us this schedule that we have to face in 2012. She obviously thought very highly of this team, because she's truly challenged us this year with the schedule that we have. We face off against five of the eight College World Series teams from last year. We get started right away with Penn State and Michigan opening weekend. We understand that we don't have to play our absolute best softball weekend one, but we have to play very, very good softball weekend one. We then see Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, we find California in Las Vegas, and then head straight to SEC play where, of course, we're playing in the top conference in the nation. Of course we see tons of competition there [in the SEC], some of the best coaches I feel in the country are in this conference. I'm so excited to be a part of that group, but we have a big challenge ahead of us here in 2012."

"We've talked a lot about preparing for this first weekend. I think these [players], especially eight great seniors that we have on this team, have really, really high goals and expectations for the season. This schedule will truly allow them to accomplish all of those goals. If they can play this season and do the things they are capable of doing, they will be able to achieve everything that they're looking to achieve in this year without question. It's a great schedule for allowing them to do that, but there is no off weekend, there is no off game. We have to show up ready to play every time we take the field, and they're committed to do that."

"One thing we've talked a lot about this year also, and you can kind of see when you're around our facility, is the ‘it' factor. This has been our theme all year, and ‘it' actually started before the fall, before our football team had the great season that it had. This ‘it' factor, we talked about creating it with this team, and it's kind of that intangible factor that you can't necessarily put words on. Coach (Les) Miles talked about it a lot in his post-game interviews and talked all year that this team just had ‘it.' You can't necessarily put words on it. Just look at a lot of the motivational things we've done around here. A lot of our marketing for this season will involve that ‘it' factor, and our tagline is ‘whatever it takes.' We've talked a lot with our players about what it takes to create that, and what is it about those special teams that have that ‘it' factor. It's determination, it's chemistry and it's work ethic. All of those things go into creating that ‘it' factor. I feel like this is a very solid unit of 22 players, and all will contribute this season."

"Obviously we're led by our pitching staff, with All-American Brittany Mack, Rachele Fico and Meghan Patterson. They're very talented, they're very special and they will keep us in every ball game on the schedule this season. We really have a solid group of players. I think any day could be anyone's time to shine. I think any one of these girls could be the hero on any day. I'll tell you, the eight seniors really stand out. They're a very highly-motivated group. They want to leave a mark on this university. They want to leave a legacy. They are set to do some big things this year. The rest of us are really just trying to help them accomplish those goals and do a lot of this for them."

On former LSU softball coach Yvette Girouard …
"She's awesome. I'm so glad that she's still living in Baton Rouge. She's been a mentor for me before I even came to LSU. Now that she's still in town, it's so nice to call her when you've had a bad day or even when you've had a great day. I try to keep her posted on everything that's going on. She loves these girls so much. She would love to still be a part of this program in some way, shape or form. I'm always calling her to fill her in, and I'm also calling her to ask what to do next. So, she's been a huge help."

On the team overall …
"I can't ask for a lot more than this team, and I can't ask for a lot more than what they've given us as a staff. They have done every single thing we've asked them to. They've bought into every change and everything we've asked them to do. I really could not ask for a lot more. I feel that I'm a very well-rounded and balanced coach. I like to have some speed, some power. I like to pitch, play defense and my practices are very balanced. We work on defense the same amount of time we work on offense, and we don't go a day without doing one or the other. This team is capable of all of the things I'm asking them to do. We can run, we can hit, we can play defense and definitely pitch. They have all of the tools and all of the things I need them to have."

On pitching depth …
"That's what we have, we have those three. Brittany Mack, Rachele Fico and Meghan Patterson, that's who we'll depend on. If one of them got hurt, we would just lean on the other two. Hopefully that won't happen, and we'll be able to use everyone accordingly and keep everyone happy. Honestly, they're so talented. Any one of them could be a No. 1 at many universities throughout the country. We're really lucky to have a staff of that caliber all in one place."

On Brittany Mack and Rachele Fico …
"Brittany is a very special player, she's so competitive. She works so hard every day, and she really sets the example for our team on how to work. She works until she gets things right instead of just working to do the work that we're asking her to do. She has some special pitches that are different than anything I've ever seen. Honestly, I think those are a huge part of her game. But even more, it's her will to win and her drive to just be the absolute best. I think that's what makes her the pitcher that she is."

"Rachele Fico is equally as talented. I don't know that we're going in with a solid No.1 and 2. Like I said, they're both ones in any university. I think the picking order will lay itself out. Of course, you'll see Brittany Mack a lot here early, and she's going to have the opportunity, but I think we're going to rely on both of them."

"Both of them share a lot of the time and do a lot of this because they are talented. Rachele throws really hard. She sees the game differently than any pitcher I've worked with. She's kind of a chess player when she's out there. She really is always thinking about matchups and pitches. She's a true student of the game and a true pitcher, not just a thrower. Add that to the talent and the things that she's capable of, and you have another special player. Like I said, having the two of them is really a coach's dream."

On Ashley Applegate…
"We're so lucky to have her back. You'll see a lot of time from her. I think she is a great hitter because she does so well seeing pitches. She's not one that's going to strike out, she always puts the ball in play. She gets a lot of good information and makes great decisions at the plate. She is a college hitter, and she acts like it. She has a ton of experience, and we'll rely on her for that."

On offensive challenges…
"We try not to talk about it, honestly we really don't. We try not to make it a factor. We play our best softball we can. Our offense is swinging really well. I think if you ask our pitching staff, it's a lot tougher for them to get this offense out for them this year. They are making huge strides, and they have a lot of confidence. Confidence is so much of hitting, and these kids have a ton of confidence right now. We just play our best softball we can play. If it goes out of the park, great. If it stays in and it's a double, great."

On the starting lineup…
"You know, I sat down yesterday and tried to make a starting lineup, and I don't think that I can do it yet. I have three more days to figure it out. There is a ton of competition on the scene. A few people deserve opportunities here early. I think it will work itself out by the time we get to SEC play, but I'm really trying to go on what I have in front of me and not base it on past experience. I want to make decisions that are fair to everyone. You're going to see a ton of competition. You might see some in and out the first couple of weeks with different people trying out different spots, different lineups and things until we have that set lineup when we get to SEC play. Like I said, there are a ton of kids battling. There are a ton of talented players on this team. There are kids that are very close to one another. I need games to see who actually is going to step up and be that game player versus practice."

On the "it" factor…
"I think the ‘it' right now is this team and their chemistry, honestly. I think it is a special group, they get along well, they're driven, they're motivated, they enjoy being here every day. It's obvious by the way they play. I think the way this team has come together through this coaching change and through everything they went through this summer is a huge factor in the spot that they're in right now. It's been amazing how they've bought in to everything we've asked them to do. I think the ‘it' for the future is just to continue to improve in all areas. Of course we have work to do in our offense, and of course we have work to do in our defense. To maintain a pitching staff like this for the next four or five years is going to be very difficult to do, because they're extremely talented. We're always looking to grow and build in the future and we want this team to be a team that's in the College World Series year in and year out. Without question, that's our goal. That's what we're looking to do this year and every year."

On handing out puzzle pieces…
"The puzzle is part of the ‘it' that we're doing. Every day, the practice player of the day gets a puzzle piece, and it goes into the puzzle. ‘What is ‘it'?" was our tagline that we did with it. Every day they get a piece, and they have no idea what the puzzle is going to make at the end. Each piece has different people on it that make up this puzzle. So there are little mini pictures that make up a big one. All of the people on it have the ‘it' factor. There's Michael Jordan, and there are past LSU athletes that have done great things. There's a lot of ‘it' factor on the puzzle as well. It was new this year. We thought a lot about what we wanted to come in with and what this team really needed. It seemed like it was always a team that was so close and had so many things going for them, but never quite made it over the top. We wanted them to understand what the last piece is, what it takes to get that last ‘it' factor, to be that team that everybody wants to be like. That's what we went with. We started day one in the fall. We sometimes give two (pieces) a day, sometimes they get it for doing academic things or strength and conditioning things. There's been a day where we give it to maybe 10 different people because they had above a 3.0 GPA."

On competition allowing the team to be better…
"I think it's contributed to depth, and I think it's contributed to some great competition we have on this field. I think another thing that's contributed is that I'm new, and I haven't seen these guys play in a ton of games yet. I don't want to make judgment on people solely based on practice, because I don't think that's fair. We saw them about four games each this fall, so we have some idea, and we've seen a ton of scrimmages this spring. I think there's some great competition. I'm telling you, there are a bunch of girls that want to be great, and they're working hard every day. They all deserve to play, without question. They've all worked and deserve a chance and deserve a spot."

On the coaching staff…
"I'm definitely excited about that, I'm excited about my entire staff. I think Howard Dobson is one of the best offensive minds out there. Lindsay (Leftwich) brings so much to the table as well with her enthusiasm and knowledge of the game. I'm excited to see how I match up, without question. I try to remind myself every day that it's the same game, and the bases are the same distance apart. I'm excited to see how we match up for sure. I'm excited to compete every weekend against someone great. We really have to work on the game strategy of it and do a little more on that side than we've ever done before. I'm really excited about that side of it."

On added pressure as a new coach…
"I don't know if there's extra pressure, I think there's always pressure to win when you're at a place like LSU standing in this beautiful facility. If this place doesn't win, then we're underachieving in my opinion. I think following a Hall of Famer (Yvette Girouard) is a blessing for me, honestly, because of what she left me with. She left us with such a great spot, so I enjoy following her and I'm glad that I was chosen to follow her, because I think I'll do a good job of respecting what she built here and really trying to continue some of the traditions that she's brought. I think that's important."

On team goals…
"Number one is to be in the College World Series, without question. I think they (the players) filled out a goal sheet early on, but it was very clear to us where this team wanted to go. These eight seniors haven't won a regional yet and haven't won a conference championship. They've been in some battles, and they've done some good things. A championship, I think, is what they talk about. They want a championship, they want to leave their mark and they want to hang a trophy in the hallway. They want to do all of those things. From the minute we got here, they expressed that that's where they wanted to be, and it fit perfectly with where we were trying to go as well. We have Coach Dobson on staff who has been to the World Series twice with Oklahoma, so he gives us a lot of good feedback with understanding what it takes to get there and what he has seen in doing that. (The team) enjoys hearing all of those stories from him."

On Tiger Park…
"I'm lucky I got to see the NPF game in the fall where we had a huge turnout and a really great crowd. I've seen what Tiger Park can be, so I have a little bit of sneak peek of it and I'm glad. I think I would've been so star struck in game one that I would have missed a few pitches looking up at the stands at all the great fans we have. It's an unbelievable atmosphere, and we try to take that into consideration in practices. I know that some of our communication things will change once our stadium is filled. There are things that we maybe haven't had to consider before."

On preparations for the season…
"Realistically, we have a lot of things we need to do to improve. No question, our offense has to get better. I think on defense, our range needs to improve. We have some communication things we need to do better. I even think our pitching staff needs to put the ball in some better locations more consistently. But ultimately, I can honestly tell you that I'm proud to put this team on the field on Friday. I'm proud of what they've done, I'm proud of the work they've done, I'm proud of who they are and the people that they are and I'm really proud to put them on the field Friday."

OF Ashley Langoni

On working with Simone Heyward in the outfield…
"I think it's awesome. Her and I have great communication, we know each other's speed and what our range is on getting stuff. We're really good at saying ‘Ok, back off' when you get it. We have a good connection in the outfield. I think her and I fit well at left and center."

On goals for the team…
"There's always goals. First off, we have to make it to the SEC Tournament, that's one of our goals and then to win the SEC Tournament. We want to win the SEC West, and we want to win the whole conference."

OF Simone Heyward

On this year's team…
"You can tell the change from last year, I think it's an attitude. I think the fact that we have a theme, the ‘it' theme, there's no set definition of it. It could be your speed, it could be your attitude, it could be your personality or it could be your work ethic. It could be different things. Everybody brings different things to the table, and the attitude is just there. You can tell that everybody wants to win."

On Head Coach Beth Torina…
"Coach is amazing. She's involved in practice. She's younger so she really tries to interact with us a lot more. She's a great coach, and she's definitely qualified. I'm thankful that Coach Girouard really picked her. I think everything happens for a reason, and Coach Girouard knew what she was doing when she went to look for a new coach for us."

C Morgan Russell

On moving on from previous seasons to begin a tradition of winning…
"It definitely doesn't come easy. It's something that we've always wanted, and I think we've always had the ability to do it. Leaving behind that beginning of starting up the wins again, and the championships is something that we eight seniors would love to do. We'd give anything to start this tradition of championships, again. So, it would definitely be amazing to leave that behind and start something new for our team."

On the team goals going into the season…
"Definitely, like Coach [Torina] said, we want to go to the World Series and win the World Series, but also [win]SEC Championships and being the best our team could possible be, both individually and together. We have to work hard everyday. Coach Torina has come in and has definitely pushed us to our limit. I think that she is pushing as much as we can to be able to be that team. I think she's shown us and made us believe that we have what it takes."

INF Tammy Wray

On what it would mean for this team to hang a championship…
"It would be awesome. Obviously, I'm only a sophomore, so I only have one year under my belt. But for the seniors, it would mean everything to them. We make it so far, to the regionals, every year and were so close to making the super regionals. It would just be awesome to obviously make it all the way and take the whole thing. We're just going to take it each day at a time and just hope for the best in everything."

On her improvements from last season to this season…
"It goes back to confidence. I didn't have very much confidence last year. I was very hard on myself. I think I held myself to too high of a standard at times, so when I didn't meet it, I was disappointed in myself. This year, all three coaches have taught me how to handle each at-bat and learn how to let things go. I'm definitely going to step in the box way more confident, and I'm excited."

P Brittany Mack

On the pitching staff…
"[Rachele] Fico throws hard. I've got some off-speed junk, and it's just a huge mess up for the hitters whenever we can switch in and out. It's just great because so many hitters have a hard time adjusting. We love working together on and off the field. We're just always supportive of each other."

On what the team needs to do to reach the ultimate goal…
"Believe in themselves, mostly, because everyone has their moments. In the past, it could be an at-bat, they have one bad strike out at a time when we really needed a run. It may ruin the rest of the at-bats or their defensive skills. It's just a matter of trusting in each other, and ourselves, and just really staying positive knowing that we can do it no matter what setbacks we have."

Information provided by LSU Sports