By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
LAFAYETTE – LSU’s defensive miscues continued to haunt the team in its 7-2 loss at Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday night.
The Tigers committed three costly errors in the loss, marking their sixth straight game without playing error-free baseball. LSU has committed 12 errors during that six-game stretch.
Even though his team was far from polished, head coach Jay Johnson believes Louisiana’s aggressive offensive approach – rather than LSU’s defensive struggles alone – helped shift the momentum of the game.
“I think you look at each play in the situation it’s in,” Johnson said of the errors after the loss. “I wouldn’t give it a collective statement. We clearly had some difficulty at first base (John Pearson) the other night. That personnel decision is something I have to do a better job with. Tonight, they’re going to force you to play fast catch. They do it as good as anybody that I’ve seen. They’re going to put pressure on you at the base running and force you to play fast catch.”
LSU’s first error came at the very start of the game. After the Cajuns took a 1-0 lead with an RBI double, redshirt junior pitcher Gavin Guidry threw the ball into the outfield on a sloppy pick-off attempt to second base, allowing the runner to advance to third.
What seemed like a minor mistake quickly snowballed into one of the biggest moments of the game. Louisiana’s Rigoberto Hernandez hit a ground ball to first baseman Zach Yorke, who threw home without first touching first for the out. And Yorke’s throw was low, and sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide couldn’t come up with it, giving the Cajuns their second run of the game.
Johnson believes his team has to do a better job of executing on the defensive end when it comes to playing aggressive teams like Louisiana-Lafayette, which hits and runs and bunts a lot, putting pressure on defenses.
“The ball that Yorke didn’t make the play on or Arrambide dropped, I don’t know how hard it was hit,” Johnson said. “We need to be comfortable playing fast catch. So even if it’s a loss, it’s a very valuable game to be prepared for those things.”
Arrambide had another stumble in the bottom of the third inning. A Louisiana batter led off the frame with a swinging bunt, and Arrambide overcommitted on the ball and completely missed it, allowing the runner to reach base. Although it was scored as an infield hit, it was another play the Tigers should have made.
The third and most costly error came in the bottom of the fifth. With Louisiana leading 3-2, junior outfielder Donovan LaSalle opened the inning with a double down the right-field line. In the next at-bat, junior third baseman Drew Markle laid down a bunt, and senior pitcher Connor Benge fielded it but threw the ball wide into right field, allowing LaSalle to score.
Louisiana creates chaos to answer LSU's two-run fifth#GeauxCajuns | #WaterHoseBoys pic.twitter.com/FssB7yCyTj
— Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns® Baseball (@RaginCajunsBSB) March 5, 2026
Louisiana would go on to tack on two more runs in the inning, turning a one-run game into a comfortable lead.
The Tigers posted a .981 fielding percentage last season, committing only 44 errors in 68 games. But it has been a rough defensive start for LSU this year. The Tigers now hold a .961 fielding percentage with 18 errors through 14 games.
As a result, Johnson said the team has to find a way to work out the kinks.
“We’re going to stick with it and play cleaner baseball,” Johnson said. “It’s tough to have lessons and losses like that, but sometimes it grabs the team’s attention.”
And if Johnson doesn’t get the production he needs from someone in the starting lineup, he’s willing to adjust until he finds his most reliable nine.
“On the position player side, we’re going to have to continue to mix and match a little bit.”
LSU will try to regroup quickly when it hosts Sacramento State (3-9) this weekend at Alex Box Stadium. The series begins Friday at 6:30 p.m.
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