Base Hits And Crawfish: Meet LSU's Sahvanna Jaquish

Base Hits And Crawfish: Meet LSU's Sahvanna Jaquish

If you ask any player on Louisiana State University's softball team to describe her teammate Sahvanna Jaquish, the last words you'll probably hear are "bashful" or "soft-spoken." In fact, she's quite the opposite.

Mar 27, 2017 by Kati Morse Morse
EXCLUSIVE Tiger Park Tour
If you ask any player on Louisiana State University's softball team to describe her teammate Sahvanna Jaquish, the last words you'll probably hear are "bashful" or "soft-spoken." In fact, she's quite the opposite.

Nicknamed "the Queen" by the team's sports information director, Jaquish has a certain flair for the dramatic. A natural leader and mass communication and journalism major, you will most likely hear this outspoken senior before you see her. I couldn't wait to interview Jaquish, especially after I saw a video of her belting out a Drake song during a rain delay last year.

So, what could've possibly rendered the Queen speechless as she walked into the Auburn visitors' locker room two weeks ago? Her teammates cheering and screaming her name in congratulations.

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/LSUsoftball/status/841018467465736192" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]

You can see Jaquish blushing, even covering her face. But that's understandable, because she'd just broken LSU softball's career RBI record.

In the second contest of a three-game series against Auburn on March 12, Jaquish sent one over the fence, setting the new RBI mark of 237 (former Tiger Bianka Bell held the previous record of 236) and putting the Tigers up 8-0.

"I kind of knew I was close but not close enough to think I would actually break it," Jaquish said. "I was like, 'Why is everyone so excited?'"

Excited may be an understatement, as Jaquish's bomb allowed the Tigers to run-rule Auburn 8-0 after a tough 5-4 loss two days before. But Jaquish didn't take credit for very long. In fact, she barely took credit at all.

"RBIs are such a team stat," she explained. "I can't take the credit. You have to have a runner on base. Those numbers show off so many things for our team: our speed, our ability to get on base, the willingness to do a job. It's such a team stat and that makes me even more proud of it."

These Boots Were Made For Walkin'

It's been almost four years since this Highland, California, native packed her bags and headed for Louisiana - a decision she had a lot of guidance in making. Jaquish is the youngest of three daughters. And her two sisters also played Division I softball. Carissa, the oldest, played softball at Notre Dame; while Jenna, the middle sibling, was a Monmouth Hawk.

"Carissa is 10 years older than me," Jaquish said. "So, when I was 8 years old, she was in college. I felt like I was always playing catch-up. She would come home for summer break, and she would take me outside and throw the ball. My hand would get all bruised, and I would tell her 'Please slow it down!' and she would tell me that I had to get tough and catch up. So, I had that in my head at age 8… that I had to play at the skill level of girls in college if I wanted to survive."

Since her sisters headed east to live out their softball dreams, no one really knew where Jaquish would end up.

"My sisters had their suggestions on where I should go to college," Jaquish giggled. "Of course, they would've supported whatever I chose. But Carissa always said she was just glad USC didn't have a softball team… that's Notre Dame's rival. She would let me go anywhere but there."

Ultimately, Jaquish set her sights on the Tigers and Baton Rouge, LA, even if those sights weren't quite on target.

"For some reason, I had a picture in my mind that Louisiana was 'country' -- with cowboys, horses, and cows… kinda like Texas," Jaquish recalls. "I was convinced everyone wore cowboy hats and boots. So of course, I bought a pair of boots before I came. I haven't worn them since."

Now bootless and enlightened, Jaquish immediately fell in love with Louisiana's Cajun culture, taking in everything that Sportsman's Paradise had to offer.

"My favorite thing was learning how to eat crawfish," Jaquish laughed. "I went to my first crawfish boil with (LSU teammate) Bailey Landry. She filled this huge platter with crawfish and handed it to me. I was under the impression that, surely THAT much crawfish was for the whole table. And she had to explain to me, 'No, this is just for you. This is YOUR plate.' I couldn't believe it. But now… I can't imagine life without crawfish."

The Feisty Freshman

Once the mudbug honeymoon phase wore off, Jaquish really came into her own - as a person and as a player. The former Redlands East Valley High School catcher became one of the most dangerous freshman in the SEC.

Jaquish played in all but two games in the 2014 season, earning first-team All-SEC honors. She became the sixth freshman in team history to make first team and only the second to earn it as a designated player. She led the team in (here we go!) batting average (.341), home runs (17), RBIs (55), slugging percentage (.699), and total bases (121) while finishing second in doubles (9) and on-base percentage (.445). (But wait! There's more!) Jaquish also broke the single-season home run record that Leslie Klein set in 2004.

"It's so weird to look back now," Jaquish said, "…and remember that I only had three offers coming out of high school. I wasn't highly recruited."

But Jaquish admits that her success didn't come as easily as she'd hoped; she spent most of that year maturing into the fiery yet collected player you see today.

When I came out of high school, I had myself convinced that I had to be this big home run hitter," she said. "I had this mindset that if I wasn't hitting home runs, I wasn't winning my at-bats. But I finally learned. My coaches told me that I didn't need to hit the ball over the fence every time for our team to be successful. We win when I get a job done, like hitting a sac fly. That took so much pressure off me. It gave me that success I wanted in the first place. I began to hit home runs and doubles, because I was less stressed out.

Queen Chameleon

Since the 2014 season, Jaquish has become a true staple in the Tigers' lineup. And trust me, she's earned it. Along with grossing All-America honors for three straight years, she's accumulated an impressive résumé of accolades. But what's even more remarkable is the number of positions she's played during her three-and-a-half-year journey. While her primary position is listed as catcher, she's consistently split time at the first base, third base, shortstop, and designated player spots. Jaquish puts quite an emphasis on versatility and attributes that quality to her dad.

"It's important to be an athlete, not just athletic at one position," Jaquish said. "Coaches are looking for that at the college level… an athlete who can become whatever they need. My dad helped me with that. He has such a knowledge of the game and the skills, and that shows. All three of his daughters went on to play Division I softball. He always preached to us that if we wanted to play at the collegiate level, we would have to be able to play everywhere."

Jaquish also believes that her chameleon-like abilities have helped her compete more effectively and coolly. And that adaptability has made it impossible to keep her out of the Tigers' lineup.

"Playing all of those different positions has help me become a better leader, and a better all-around player," she said. "I've gained a confidence from knowing these different aspects."

Jaquish is one of the most entertaining players to watch in college softball today. When she's not entertaining her teammates and fans, she's getting timely hits and making big plays at Tiger Park.

"It's crazy that this is my last year as a Tiger," Jaquish said. "I don't think it's really hit me yet. But I'm pretty sure on senior day, I'll be a mess. Hopefully I can play with tears in my eyes, because this place is now a part of me in every way."

Her position on the lineup card may vary, but one thing will never change for Jaquish: her love for softball, for the Tigers, and for the state of Louisiana.
Oh, and crawfish.

"We've discussed base hits, and we've discussed crawfish," she said. "What else is there to talk about?"