Florida State’s infield defense was a question mark going into 2026 with Alex Lodise and Drew Faurot drafted and beginning their pro baseball careers.
The errors have built up of late with shortstop Cal Fisher committing two errors in Friday’s loss to NC State. Fisher had two more and Eli Putnam had two errors on Saturday, although the Seminoles overcame the four errors in a win. After an error-less Sunday game as FSU took the series from NC State, Putnam and Myles Bailey had errors in dreary conditions on Tuesday in a 5-0 loss to Florida at Jacksonville.
“You always pick your moments to try to instruct,” FSU coach Link Jarrett said. “… Sometimes I let them simmer down a little bit. They know in most cases what the technical mistake might have been. We review it and then today at practice, we have sequences of drills that we do. Without me even forcing reviews of specific things, they're going to get their reps at everything that we struggle with.”
As Jarrett noted, Fisher is making the move to short from third base (where he started for FSU in 2024 and ‘25). Putnam started 32 games for Davidson at second base, but he also started the other 24 games at the three other infield spots.
This is part of the learning curve as Fisher and Putnam try to settle in for No. 10 FSU (19-5, 5-1 ACC), which plays host to Duke (17-10, 4-5) in a three-game series that begins on Friday. And it’s a tough adjustment for the Seminoles a year after Lodise and Faurot combined had just nine errors in 2025.
“They've given us good effort,” Jarrett said. “They're both playing positions that they hadn't played at this level a ton. And I know specifically the things each of them need to work on. As we go through our practices and our days, I do try to cater some of the things over and over that I know each individual needs work on that's just blending into the work that we do.
“The effort is there. The execution is hopefully going to match the effort that they put into it.”
Of note on FSU-Duke series
The Marching Chiefs will be in attendance for Friday’s game, which begins at 6 p.m. (ACC Network Extra).
Duke won two of three games in a series against Miami at Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils are just 2-4 in road games, dropping two of three in a weekend series at Virginia Tech last weekend.
The Blue Devils have stolen an impressive 105 bases. “If you string that out, the number of attempts would be something I don't really think I've seen if the ratio of it per game continues through a 60-plus-game schedule,” Jarrett said.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast at 2 p.m. (ACC Network). FSU alum Eduardo Perez will be the analyst.
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