OKLAHOMA CITY – From the quirky rally hats to the classic prank of photo bombing LSU coach Beth Torina during mid-game interviews, the No. 8 LSU softball team is the ultimate collection of personalities that fully embraces the motto “can’t beat crazy” in the dugout.
Along with raising their level of play for the Women’s College World Series to earn a 6-1 victory against Auburn in their WCWS opener, the Tigers (51-12) brought a new definition to dugout shenanigans with the addition of “Juanita” the rally fish.
When the Tigers first arrived in Oklahoma City, junior shortstop Bianka Bell and freshman pitcher Allie Walljasper went to Walmart to get snacks but instead returned to the hotel with a fish, which they named “Juanita.”
“We got her a home, some pebbles and some nice plants to swim through, so she’s well taken care of,” said junior catcher Kellsi Kloss.
Juanita made her national television debut in the dugout during the Tigers’ WCWS opener and left all but the Tiger faithful completely baffled.
Although LSU coach Beth Torina made a point to say she was in a meeting when Juanita was bought and is unsure about the new member of her team, she fully embraces the forms of expression in the dugout that make watching her team a unique experience.
“I don’t know about the fish,“ Torina said. “I like the personalities. There’s nothing like the dynamic of a team … I think all their individual personalities truly make us who we are. I encourage personalities. There’s some things we’re really uniform about.
There’s some standards that we uphold and every single girl on the team upholds those, but, for the most part, who they are as people is what makes us LSU. So I love that side of them.”
The freedom to have fun in the dugout gives LSU the opportunity to play loose on the field, which is key to the Tigers’ record-breaking season in 2015.
“If we’re not enjoying having fun, then we’re not going to play as well,” Kloss said. “We have crazy stuff like masks and horse heads, and we got a fish named ‘Juanita’ for the trip. It’s stuff to keep us loose. Coach says we always play better when we’re loose like that.”
All the antics in the dugout may seem like a distraction to outsiders, but, for the Tigers, nothing is more normal than what Bell referred to on Twitter as “the nonstop dugout rally fiesta.”

Tigers fans meet the newest member of our nonstop dugout rally fiesta, Juanita the GloFish💜💛🐟 pic.twitter.com/DiA3Ve7k6H
— Bianka Bell (@bee_bellz) May 27, 2015