Most NCAA softball programs would sell their souls to be in the position the LSU softball pitching staff is in this season.
It is a rare luxury to have the 2005 High School Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award on your team and have her generally regarded as the second best pitcher on the squad.
Sophomore Dani Hofer, who won the player of the year award, and senior Emily Turner make up one of the most dominating pitching duos in the nation, and the two will be heavily relied on this season to carry the Tigers to their first Women’s College World Series appearance since 2004.
LSU fell one game short of the WCWS in 2006. The Tigers dropped the best of a three-game series to the top-ranked and eventual national champion University of Arizona, 2-1.
Turner rebounded from an inconsistent sophomore season in 2005, posting a 28-9 record this past season with a 0.93 ERA. She finished the season No. 4 in the Southeastern Conference with 260 strikeouts.
Hofer transitioned from Palm Harbor High School in St. Petersburg, Fla., to LSU quickly and effectively, winning five of her first six college decisions. She finished her freshman campaign with a 16-5 record and a 2.18 ERA.
Both hurlers said after finishing this past season one win away from the WCWS, expectations are high for the team and, more specifically, the pitching staff in 2007.
Turner, who was an Easton Second Team All-American in 2006, said this past off-season was the most physically and mentally demanding she has experienced in her softball career.
“This fall I have worked harder than I’ve ever worked since I was 12 years old playing softball,” Turner said. “[The team] really had an awesome off-season.”
The Tigers played three exhibition games in October and the pitching staff tossed shutouts in all three contests. LSU defeated Southeastern Louisiana University, 13-0, before defeating LSU-Eunice, 9-0, and Hinds Community College, 8-0, in the LSU Fall Collegiate Classic.
LSU coach Yvette Girouard said she was very pleased with Turner and Hofer’s performance in the fall and expects more of the same this season.
“Emily [Turner] looked as good as she’s ever looked since she’s been here,” Girouard said. “Dani came back with a renewed sense of confidence, and she’s determined that she’s going to finish strong just like she started strong last year.”
Hofer said since the end of last season she has gotten better at making improvements in her game and looks forward to seeing how those improvements have worked out when the Tigers open the season Feb. 9 against the University of Memphis in the Easton Tiger Classic.
“I’ve been able to feel what I do wrong and what I do right so if something goes wrong in my game I know how to fix it,” Hofer said. “[For example] if a curveball goes low I’m probably falling forward.”
After beginning her freshman campaign strong, Hofer’s play slightly faltered in SEC play. The right-hander posted a 6-3 record in 11 conference games and had a 3.58 ERA against SEC competition.
Hofer said there is heavy pressure on herself and Turner to perform well this season, but returning five defensive starters from a unit that ranked No. 5 in the SEC in fielding percentage in 2006 alleviates some of the burden.
“This defense behind me is so good that if I’m having a bad day, they can back it up,” Hofer said.
No matter how impressive the defense is, Girouard said the success of the Tigers lies squarely on the shoulders of the pitching staff.
“It all starts in the circle,” she said. “Without pitchers the team is not good, period. There’s been a lot of offense oriented into this game in the last 10 years, but to get to the College World Series [and] to win championships, it’s still 80 percent of what happens in that circle.”
Turner said two aces in the circle are necessary for the Tigers to advance far in the postseason.
“In order for us to succeed, we need to have two great pitchers,” Turner said. “Dani and I need to lead this team this year because if we’re not doing our job in the circle, then it doesn’t really give our team a chance to win.”
Both pitchers agree anything less than a spot in the WCWS this summer will be an extreme disappointment.
“We came so close last season, and we definitely have the stuff to get all the way there,” Hofer said. “So if we don’t make it I think I’ll be a little shocked.”
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]