Sophomore catcher Sahvanna Jaquish held down the hot corner for Game 1 of LSU’s weekend series against Oklahoma on March 20. The next day, Jaquish was behind the plate when LSU run-ruled Oklahoma.
Anyone who ventures to Tiger Park for a weekend series will likely see at least three different pitchers and two catchers. Sometimes, the Tigers give off the vibe that they’re playing musical pitchers and catchers with how effortlessly they change who is paired in the circle and behind the plate.
LSU coach Beth Torina said she doesn’t allow exclusive pairings of pitchers and catchers.
“They have to be able to catch all the pitchers,” Torina said. “We don’t allow them to be only able to throw to one catcher. We don’t allow them to have that opinion. This is a team concept. We have to do what is best for the team. Both of our catchers are so talented, there’s probably not a pitcher in the country that either of them could not catch.”
Torina’s philosophy is evident in the lineups she has put on the field this season. Junior catcher Kellsi Kloss has started behind the plate in 24 games and Jaquish, who has primarily started at third base, has started at catcher 12 times. Meanwhile, freshman catcher Sydney Loupe is ever-present in the LSU bullpen.

Catcher isn’t the Tigers only rotating position. Each member of LSU’s pitching staff has had a comparable number of starts. Freshman pitcher Allie Walljasper leads the rotation in games started (10), followed by sophomores Baylee Corbello (9) and Kelsee Selman (9) and freshman Carley Hoover (8).
With frequent rotations at both positions, each catcher and pitcher has started at least one game together.
The duos are comfortable together, and it’s evident in their results. Each pitcher/catcher combo has won at least one game while working in tandem.
Hoover said the familiarity starts in the bullpen.
“We take a lot of pride in knowing each one of our pitchers very well,” Kloss said. “That’s what we do during bullpens. We make sure we rotate throughout each pitcher, and we catch them at least once a week. We just know each one of their styles really well.”
Walljasper said the players have fun in the bullpen, but are focused on performing at the highest level. A lot of the work involves a stream of feedback from the catcher to the pitcher.
Kloss said the catchers analyze what’s working and are honest, so the pitchers can improve in the circle.
“It’s pretty cool because all three [catchers] have different approaches of approaching us when we do something wrong,” Walljasper said. “Kellsi is always the loving part, always says when we do something right, or when we do something wrong she’s just nice to fix it. Sahvanna’s the hard one, saying ‘You need to fix this, or this is going to happen.’ Loupe is always the one who makes us smile no matter what.
“It’s pretty cool how they can all three catch us at once.”
You can reach Jack Woods on Twitter @Jack_TDR