Lots of attention surrounded the No. 2 LSU baseball team’s lack of execution on offense to begin the season. But with the offensive woes came defensive terrors.
Coming into the weekend series against Boston College, the Tigers (6-1) already had committed nine errors on the season and were dead last amongst Southeastern Conference teams in fielding percentage at just more than .940 percent.
LSU committed four errors in its midweek loss to Nicholls State on Feb. 18. LSU coach Paul Mainieri said he was troubled by the loss considering the amount of veteran and seasoned depth he has at his disposal.
“I think we have great defensive players, Mainieri said. “It’s something we really emphasize. You can not have a great pitching staff without great defense behind them, and it’s something we’ve really emphasized.”
The Tigers couldn’t seem to find their groove on the diamond in the early going, and frustrations and mental lapses boiled over in the 6-3 loss to Nicholls. The loss served as a wake up call for the squad, which suffered a rare midweek loss at Alex Box Stadium.
LSU took its Thursday practice to regroup, regaining an aggressive mentality that was otherwise lacking in its first four games. Mainieri and the coaching staff upped the intensity of practice, hoping to get passion out of their players and get the gritty squad back on track.
The Tigers came into Game 1 of their series against Boston College looking to hop on the Eagles fast and erase the memory of a dreadful Wednesday night.
It didn’t start out according to plan.
In the first inning, LSU sophomore pitcher Jared Poche’ had men on first and second with one out when he attempted a pick off that went awry allowing both runners to advance. The Eagles would drive home both runners on a two-run single to center, putting the Tigers in a quick hole.
Poche’ came back in the next inning and committed another error, attempting to throw out a runner at first on a short grounder landing in front of the mound.
It couldn’t have started any worse for LSU, but it regrouped.
The Tigers kept a clean slate on defense for the remainder of the series as they began to find their groove.
“[It was just] early growing pains. It’s nothing to be worried about,” said junior designated hitter Chris Chinea. “We overcame those errors, and that’s good for us to go down early and come back and get the win. It shows us that we have a strong character on this team, and we’re always going to come back and fight and fight until the end.”
LSU helped its fans forget about its early misfortunes after sweeping the Eagles with ease and reclaiming its defensive intensity.
The Tigers’ solid weekend raised their fielding percentage to .960, lifting them out of last place in the SEC. And while the Tigers still lead the conference in errors, they’re happy and confident in where the team is headed.
“Everyday this team clicks more and more,” Chinea said. “We’re a great group of guys, and we’re really meshing the right way. I like the way this team is heading.”
You can reach Jack Chascin on Twitter @Chascin_TDR.