The No. 12 LSU softball team’s three-headed hitting monster of senior infielders Bianka Bell and Kellsi Kloss and junior infielder Sahvanna Jaquish are a devastating trio at the plate.
But a second group of three elevates the squad from the circle: sophomore pitchers Carley Hoover and Allie Walljasper and freshman hurler Sydney Smith.
“The three of them are all so different,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “They all have their own niche. They keep us in every ballgame. I think we have a chance to win with any of them on the mound, and they do a great job of competing and leading us.”
After starting throughout the 2015 season, despite their classifications Hoover (14-6) and Walljasper (8-5) are proven veterans.
Hoover served as the team’s ace for a majority of the 2015-16 season. She leads the squad in innings thrown at 128.2 innings and notched 161 strikeouts in 26 appearances in the circle.
The Clemson, South Carolina, native has earned the most wins this year and has allowed batters to hit a mere .193 at the plate.
“She is very competitive and that is somebody you want in the circle,” Smith said. “She picks people up when they are in their own head and not focusing on what they need to focus on.”
Walljasper serves as the No. 2 gunslinger for Torina’s rotation. She allows the highest batting average on the team at .230.
Arguably the most impressive Tiger hurler is their lone rookie.
Smith (9-2) is third in terms of innings thrown, but boasts the team’s lowest ERA at 0.66, which is tied for second lowest in Division I.
In her rookie campaign, she has eight complete games, including a perfect game and a near no-hitter, which was broken up with one out remaining.
“The fact that we can show three different pitchers, makes all of them more effective in their respective starts, because of it.” Torina said. “Having someone else we can throw out there on Sunday, the others can show everything they have earlier in the weekend, too. They aren’t trying to hold pitches in case they face the lineup again.”
The trio has kept the team in games when the offense struggles, but when the LSU bats can’t score, it reduces the hurlers’ margin of error.
Against No. 1 Florida, Walljasper threw eight scoreless innings, but the LSU offense could not produce a run. The top-ranked Gators plated three in the ninth to win the contest.
In a three-game set, the Tigers’ hurlers held then-No. 16 Kentucky to six runs throughout the series. However, again the LSU offense failed to score a single run in each of the three contests.
“In our losses, they don’t give up very many runs,” said senior catcher Kellsi Kloss. “Even when we do lose, it’s nice to know they are going to do everything they can to hold it down for us.”
Throughout the season, the team’s goal — stated by various players and coaches — is to win a National Championship.
If the team is going to achieve its goal, the pitchers’ role to get there is simple, according to Hoover.
“We will not let runners hit or score,” Hoover said. “Giving our hitters every chance possible to just scrape a few runs on the board to win us a ballgame.”

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Emily Brauner

LSU sophomore Allie Walljasper (25) pitches during the Tigers' 8-0 victory against South Carolina on Saturday, April 23, 2016 in Tiger Park.