The Tigers were in a bit of a pickle entering the season. On the one hand, they had one last season of Carley Hoover and Allie Walljasper, which would position them to compete with the best in the SEC and the country. On the other hand, they had lost two of the best hitters in program history in Savannah Jaquish and Bailey Landry, with no apparent replacements.
Much of those pre-season concerns played out as expected. LSU had a team ERA of 1.57, best since 2010. Maribeth Gorsuch emerged as a viable starting option after an average freshman campaign.