Elizabeth Dieter Torina (formerly McClendon; born October 15, 1978) is an American

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

coach and former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who is the current

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Early life and education

Born Elizabeth Dieter in

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A south suburb of Chicago, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its nicknames include "The Cro ...

, Torina grew up in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

and graduated from Dr. Phillips High School. Originally a walk-on and competing as Beth Dieter, Torina became the number-two pitcher on the

Florida Gators softball The Florida Gators softball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of softball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their h ...

team at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

and became the top starting pitcher as a junior in 1999. In her career, Torina made 139 appearances with 105 starts, a 60–39 record, 23 shutouts, and 716.2 innings pitched and is ranked top ten all-time in multiple categories including shutouts, appearances, wins, and starts. As a senior in 2000, Torina had a career-best 1.75

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. Torina graduated in 2000 with a B.S. in health sciences and occupational therapy.

Coaching career

Assistant coach (2001–2007)

From 2000 to 2010, Torina was known as Beth McClendon. Torina began her coaching career as an assistant coach for the

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson. The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...

softball team for two seasons from 2001 to 2002, during which she helped Stetson win a shared regular season

Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

title in 2001. She then moved on to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

from 2003 to 2007 as pitching coach. McClendon helped Houston make its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, an at-large bid after the team finished fifth in the

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

regular season standings and runners-up in the C-USA tournament. Houston finished the tournament 1–2 in the Baylor regional, beating Texas A&M–Corpus Christi and losing to

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. In Torina's final season at Houston in 2007, Houston won both the C-USA regular season and tournament titles, both firsts in program history. Upsetting no. 23 Louisiana–Lafayette and regional host no. 7

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

before losing twice to Texas A&M, Houston went 2–2 in the College Station regional of the NCAA Tournament.

FIU (2008–2011)

Torina got her first head coaching job at Florida International University (FIU) on July 12, 2007, hired by athletic director Pete Garcia.Alt URL
/ref> Inheriting a 22–35 team, Torina led FIU to a 29–34 record and fourth-place finish in the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

, for which she won her first Sun Belt Coach of the Year award. The following season, FIU finished 31–29, the first winning record in three years. In 2010, FIU went 38–21 (17–7 Sun Belt) with the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament bid, an at-large bid following second-place finishes in the Sun Belt regular season and tournament. FIU went 2–2 in the Gainesville regional of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, including an upset over regional host and eventual Women's College World Series participant

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, which was then ranked no. 4 nationally. Torina delivered another winning season in 2011 with a 31–27 record, tied for third in the Sun Belt.

LSU (2012–present)

On June 20, 2011,

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

athletic director Joe Alleva named Torina head coach of the

LSU Tigers softball The LSU Tigers softball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and plays home games in Tiger Park. The team is currently coached by Beth Torina. ...

team. In her first year as head coach, she led the Tigers to the quarterfinals of the 2012 Women's College World Series, followed by an SEC West Division title in 2013. Under Torina, LSU made repeat appearances in the

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...

, from

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. Torina led the program to its first ever no. 1 national ranking in 2015 and the program's 1,000th all-time victory in 2016. Following the 2015 season, Torina earned a $45,000 raise that increased her annual salary to $225,000 and one-year contract extension through 2018. By the 2018 season, Torina had produced five NFCA All-American players at LSU.

USSSA Pride (2011–2012)

Torina was also manager of the

USSSA Pride The USSSA Pride is a professional softball team based in Viera, Florida, and a former member of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). Founded in 2009, they previously played in National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) from 2009 to 2019. They play their home ...

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

from 2011 to 2012. The Pride won the NPF Championship in 2010.

Personal life

Torina's first marriage was to Matt McClendon in 2000; they lived in

Pearland, Texas Pearland ( ) is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, Brazoria County, with portions extending into Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend and Harris County, Texas, Harris counties, in Texas, United States. The city of Pearland is a principal city wit ...

when Torina was an assistant coach at Houston. She is currently married to former

Houston Cougars baseball The Houston Cougars baseball team is the college baseball team of the University of Houston. Along with the university's other athletic teams, the baseball team is a member of the Big 12 Conference as a NCAA Division I, Division I team. They play ...

pitcher Nick Torina. They have three daughters.

Head coaching record

References

External links

LSU Lady Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torina, Beth 1978 births Living people American female sports coaches American softball coaches Softball coaches from Florida Florida Gators softball players FIU Panthers softball coaches Houston Cougars softball coaches LSU Tigers softball coaches Sportspeople from Pearland, Texas Stetson Hatters softball coaches Sportspeople from Orlando, Florida Softball players from Illinois Softball players from Florida