25-0 was the win streak the then-No. 3 LSU softball team strolled into Gainesville, Florida, last season in a clash of two then-undefeated squads with then-No. 1 Florida.
The Gators slipped past the Tigers 4-3 in Game 1 of the series, but LSU coach Beth Torina’s squad rebounded taking the final two games to win the series, 2-1. The victories elevated LSU to its first ever No. 1 ranking.
The 2016 series features many of the same storylines as the 2015 edition.
This time the No. 7 Tigers (26-5, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) will have their fans to back them as they look to pull another upset when the top-ranked Gators (30-1, 5-1 SEC) roll into Tiger Park for the three-game series, beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday.
“They are winning machines,” Torina said of the top-ranked Gators.. “They do everything right. They play solid defense. They bring three completely different looks on the mound and [the pitchers] are all good. Their offense has lefties, righties, slappers, power [and] speed… They are the best team in the country for a reason.”
Florida’s pitching staff has baffled opposing hitters. Sophomore Aleshia Ocasio, Junior lefty Delanie Gourley and freshman Kelly Barnhill form the NCAA’s leading starting rotation with an ERA of 0.87.
Ocasio headlines the trio boasting the No. 1 ERA in Division I with a 0.41. She has allowed just four earned runs in 17 appearances this season, but has allowed a team-high 42 hits in 68.1 innings of work.
Secondly, Barnhill leads Florida with 99 strikeouts in 60 innings thrown. Gourley, a left-handed pitcher, presents unique challenges to batters, as most pitchers are right handed.
“It’s a different angle,” said junior infielder Sahvanna Jaquish. “A screw[ball] is the same as a lefty’s curve[ball]… you have to think about it in that way and not really get into the mindset of it’s a lefty, I have to do something different.”
LSU pitchers threw from varying angles in practice attempting to simulate Gourley’s mechanics, according to Jaquish.
But the Tigers lineup will be one of the toughest tests the Gator’s have seen this season. Each of LSU’s normal nine hitters have a batting average over .300, and as a unit the team is maintaining a .360 average.
The most treacherous zone for pitchers is the Tigers’ 3-through-5 spots, because it has three of the deadliest hitters in LSU history — senior infielder Bianka Bell, Jaquish and senior catcher Kellsi Kloss.
This Tigers’ trio are the program’s three leading career home run hitters, Bell with 51, Jaquish with 43 and Kloss with 35. Jaquish, though, said those numbers don’t show how cable the players are behind the plate.
“I don’t feel like home runs reflect how good of hitters we are as hitters,” Jaquish said. “I feel that’s a pitching thing. We capitalize on pitcher’s mistakes. Our averages prove how well we are seeing the ball as the three, four and five hole and I think we all have something to bring there, which is good so we can protect each other.”
Kloss said the trio’s success translates to the other members of the lineup.
“It gives the rest of the lineup confidence,” Kloss said. Knowing that all they have to do is get on base, and one of us will most likely drive them in. So, it’s really cool to see the dynamic of how we work and we are ball back-to-back-to-back in the lineup. … if you have us in an inning you’ll have to throw to one of us.”
In addition to its potent offense, LSU brings its own dominant pitching staff, which will compete throw-for-throw with the Gators.
Sophomore ace Carley Hoover headlines the Tigers’ rotation and has thrown 23 innings more than freshman Sydney Smith and fellow sophomore Allie Walljasper, both with 46.2 innings pitched.
Hoover has been a force in the circle, striking out 100 batters and holding the opposition to a .211 batting average. She has 56 hits and 23 earned runs this season.
Smith leads the team with a 0.60 ERA and an opposing batting average with 0.192. The rookie has a perfect game to her name and nearly threw a no-hitter on Tuesday, but after 6.2 no-hit innings her bid was broken up when a hit that went about 10 feet from the plate.
If the Tigers want to pull off the upset and take the series from Florida, they will have to perform well in all three phases of the game, Hoover said.
“We’ve recently shown we can win with all of them, defense, hitting and pitching.” Hoover said. “Now it’s just time to put them all together.”