LSU freshman pitcher Dani Hofer made her presence known by winning her first two career starts in the round-robin Purple and Gold Challenge over the weekend.
The 2005 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year pitched a no-hitter and struck out 12 batters Saturday to lead LSU past Arkansas-Pine Bluff 15-0 in five innings.
“I had a little bit of nerves with it being my first collegiate start, but after the first inning it went away,” Hofer said.
Hofer befuddled batters much the same way in her second start against Northwestern State, winning 6-1 while allowing two hits and striking out 15.
Hofer posted a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings over the weekend while striking out the side in six of those innings.
Junior pitcher Emily Turner described Hofer’s performance as “awesome.”
“How many freshmen do you know that come out of high school and strike out 27 hitters and throw a no-hitter?” Turner said. “I don’t know incoming freshmen that do that.”
Turner won both her starts as well, throwing two shutouts and striking out 16.
LSU opened the tournament with a 11-0 defeat of Stephen F. Austin University and finished with a 4-0 victory over South Dakota State University.
“With the exception of base-running mistakes, we looked very good,” said coach Yvette Girouard. “The defense was totally solid. Leslie Klein looks like the Leslie Klein of two years ago. [Lauren] Castle had a phenomenal weekend and [Killian] Roessner handled the pitchers very well. Dani looked effortless in the circle, but she still has some stuff to work on.”
Tournament MVP Castle smashed three home runs, drove in nine runs and scored eight runs over the weekend. The Lafayette native won her second-straight MVP award in this tournament.
Castle hit a grand slam, a three-run homer and a two-run shot on Saturday. She tied the LSU record for most home runs in one day.
“That’s the first time I have ever hit more than one home run in a day,” Castle said. “I am on cloud nine right now. I felt good in warm-ups, and I guess I was seeing the ball well today.”
Castle made the all-tournament team along with teammates Klein, Turner and Hofer.
Klein made her first start after recovering from two ACL tears. The senior hit safely in 7-of-13 at-bats, drove in six runs and scored five times. Klein hit her first home run of the season in the opener against Stephen F. Austin.
“It was a very good weekend overall,” Turner said. “We had great defense and great pitching. I think we are ready. We needed this tournament to gain some confidence and get ready to play some tougher teams.”
 
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