LSU baseball: Jay Johnson, Gavin Dugas explain new defensive infield strategy
BATON ROUGE – LSU baseball has made some noticeable defensive adjustments over the last two weeks, particularly with its infield.
Starting at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, coach Jay Johnson began swapping his infielders into different positions on the diamond, often against left-handed hitters.
This isn't a typical shift. This is second baseman Gavin Dugas playing shortstop and shortstop Jordan Thompson moving to second base, or Dugas sliding to third base, third baseman Tommy White going to shortstop and Thompson playing second.
It was an adjustment that Johnson continued to go back during the Baton Rouge Regional this past week when LSU went 3-0 against Tulane and Oregon State and advanced to the super regionals for the 16th time in school history.
"(We're) just doing everything we can to put ourselves in the best position to play good defense and pitch to good defense," Johnson said on Wednesday.
LSU's defense will be a critical aspect of its game this week when it faces Kentucky in the Baton Rouge Super Regional beginning on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN). The Wildcats play a lot of small ball, stress-testing opposing defenses with bunts, stolen bases and plenty of ground balls.
In theory, LSU's new defensive wrinkle will help account for that style of play. Sliding Thompson – who Johnson says is LSU's best defensive infielder – to second base against left-handed hitters who pull the ball allows LSU to have a more mobile defensive option and a better arm at the position.
It also helps protect Dugas, who on Wednesday confirmed that he is still dealing with an injury to his throwing shoulder that he suffered against Kentucky in April.
"(It's) better circumstances for the team putting Jordan in position to touch the ball more," Dugas said. "And that makes us a better team."
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So far, the new strategy has worked. Since LSU began switching Dugas, White and Thompson around the infield, the Tigers have only committed three errors over their last six games. Two of the three mistakes have come from Thompson while the other error was the infamous catcher's interference call against Alex Milazzo in the SEC Tournament.
The Tigers are playing better defense now than they have for much of the season, as they are only 11th in the SEC in fielding percentage even after this recent run of improved form. So regardless of strategy, LSU is still going to need to keep up this level of play defensively in order to survive Kentucky's contact-heavy and small-ball approach.
"I'm pretty comfortable and confident with where we are at," Johnson said.
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball: Jay Johnson, Gavin Dugas explain new defensive strategy
