On Campus: Emphasis On Defense Paying Off

In an era of relatively low-scoring games in college baseball, defense has taken on a bigger role in the game.

While fielding percentage is far from perfect, it generally captures the top defensive teams in the country. Washington ranks first with a .985 fielding percentage, with Illinois-Chicago a ten-thousandth of a percentage point behind. The NCAA record for team fielding percentage is .985, shared by San Francisco (2011), Stony Brook (2011) and West Virginia (1971).

Washington coach Lindsay Meggs said the Huskies are the best defensive team he has coached in his career and are living up to one of their preseason goals.

“We set a goal every fall before we start to be the best team in America at the routine play,” he said. “That’s a really important thing for us and our guys have really embraced that. I think it’s shown up in our fielding percentage.”

The strongest defenses in the country are seeing their success translate into wins and losses. Of the 20 teams in the country with at least a .980 fielding percentage, 18 are .500 or better. The group includes six teams ranked in this week’s Top 25, including No. 2 Louisville and No. 5 Texas Tech.

Louisiana State leads the Southeastern Conference and ranks sixth in the country with a .983 fielding percentage. The Tigers’ team record is .980, which they did in 2012 and ’13.

Coach Paul Mainieri said he first developed an appreciation for fielding as a player at New Orleans under Ron Maestri. Once he began his own coaching career, Mainieri said he has always tried to emphasize defense, especially in an era with roster caps and decreased scoring. As a result, he has emphasized defense in recruiting.

“There’s no secret to it really, you just have to recruit good athletes who take pride in their defense, work with them a little bit and let them go out there and do what they can do,” Mainieri said. “It’s always been a point of emphasis in my coaching.”

Ohio ranks just behind LSU with a .982 fielding percentage. That is a big improvement from the Bobcats’ mark of .969 last season.

Before becoming head coach at Ohio, Rob Smith was an assistant coach at Creighton and was a part of the staff in 2009 when the Bluejays posted a .984 fielding percentage. His time at Creighton and Purdue taught him the importance of spending a lot of practice time on defense.

“The thing I always learned about defense is you’ll be good at what you emphasize,” he said. “Through that emphasis, the players understand it is important.”

Both LSU and Creighton have experienced infields, which has helped them this year. Ohio has three seniors in the infield, while LSU is led by senior shortstop Kramer Robertson and second baseman Cole Freeman. The Tigers have also gotten exemplary defense in the infield from freshmen Jake Slaugher and Josh Smith, who were high school shortstops and moved to the corners. They have also benefited from Greg Deichmann making a smooth transition from first base to right field, where he has five assists and just one error.

“It’s kind of become a tradition for us to have really good defensive players who move from the position where they played in high school and acclimate themselves,” he said.

News and notes:

Atlantic Coast Conference: After starting the season 8-15, Notre Dame has flipped that record since the end of March and enters this weekend’s series against Louisville at 23-23. Part of the reason for the Fighting Irish’s reversal has been the combination of closer Sean Guenther and setup man Peter Solomon in the bullpen. Guenther has not allowed an earned run since March 24, and is 2-2, 1.26 with six saves in 19 appearances this year. Solomon began the year in the rotation, but has shifted to the bullpen, where he has found more success. He has a 13-inning scoreless streak that dates back to April 4. The junior is 23-3, 4.26 with 46 strikeouts and 23 walks in 44.1 innings this season.

Big 12 Conference: Injuries to a few key starters have allowed new faces to step up for Texas Tech. Last week it was second baseman Brian Klein’s turn. Coach Tim Tadlock said Klein, a freshman, has impressed the Red Raiders coaches with his hitting ability this season. But he was kept in a reserve role due to Michael Davis’ own offensive skills (.277/.370/.472, 6 HR) and defense. When Davis couldn’t play Sunday against Texas Christian due to an eye injury, Klein was ready to step into his spot as Texas Tech’s cleanup hitter and hit what proved to be a game-winning three-run home run in the first game of a doubleheader. “It’s kind of neat how he ended up in the four hole today when you think about it,” Tadlock said. “I’m not smart enough to make that decision. I’m really not. He gets in there and drives some runs in. You’re like, ‘All right, the guy can separate balls and strikes and really hit, so let’s just leave him there.’ Funny how things happen.”

Big Ten Conference: Michigan second baseman Ako Thomas has missed the last five games following an injury April 21 against Indiana. Thomas is the No. 21 Wolverines’ leading hitter this season at .371/.483/.406 with 20 stolen bases. In his absence, the Wolverines have turned to fellow sophomore Jimmy Kerr, who has ably stepped up. He went 7-for-10 in Michigan’s series win at Rutgers last weekend, and is hitting .305/.358/.508 in 24 games this spring.

Pac-12 Conference: With nine strikeouts Thursday in a 7-3 victory against UC Riverside, Utah righthander Jayson Rose broke the program’s career strikeout record. Rose has struck out 241 batters in his career, breaking Jason Price’s record of 236. Rose, a junior, is 6-2, 3.62 with 67 strikeouts in 74.2 innings this spring.

Southeastern Conference: Auburn righthander Casey Mize (6-1, 1.23) is slated to return to action Saturday against Alabama. The sophomore missed his last two starts with a strain in his forearm, but leads the SEC in ERA and ranks fifth in the conference in strikeouts. While No. 4 Auburn won series against both Arkansas and Mississippi State without Mize, coach Butch Thompson said the Tigers know they need him back in their rotation. “He makes our team better,” Thompson said. “We need him back at 100 percent.”

Other conferences: Redshirt senior righthander Ryan Valdes has held a variety of roles during his career at South Florida. This year, he has developed into the Bulls’ bullpen ace. Valdes is 9-0, 2.70 and has 49 strikeouts and 19 walks in 46.2 innings. He missed last season while he recovered from Tommy John surgery, leading to some uncertainty about how to use him this season. Coach Mark Kingston said they wanted to bring Valdes along slowly, so they started him in the bullpen, where he has found plenty of success. “He started the year coming out of pen and he was so valuable as a swingman we decided to keep him there,” Kingston said. “He’s impacted a great number of games.”